HTS: Human Trafficking Stoppers
by SwiftDragonfly
Summary: Yurei Kasai transfers to UA College after an incident at her last school. Born with two powerful quirks, Yurei has to deal with the pressure of people making assumptions of her and expecting impossible things. She wants to save the most vulnerable people in society and make the world a better place, but sometimes, that requires making people a little uncomfortable. Bakugouxoc
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hello! A few warnings, explanations, and small notes you may want to know before starting to read this! This story currently has 31+ chapters prepared, almost all at a minimum of 10,000 words each. So, if you like long stories that carry on over time and get excited for the occasional email letting you know there's a new chapter, like me- you're in luck!

**Warnings:** Psychological trauma caused by rape (the rape itself is not described, but is referenced), sexual content, violence, bullying, drug use, explicit language… I think that covers it? If anyone sees something that warrants a trigger warning, let me know, and I'll add it. This story gets dark, but there is a fair amount of humor, so it's not all angst. It's a pretty good mix, in my opinion.

There's not actual sex scenes until about chapters 20+, I think. So, if that's what you're here for (I understand) you can skip on over to that when I get those chapters up, or you can stick around and enjoy the wonderful sexual tension in the earlier chapters.

*Also*, this story ended up being my way of venting about how people in general handle human trafficking, rape, abuse, those sorts of things. **It's NOT specific to Japan, and in fact, some of the issues I talk about aren't huge problems in Japan (from what I could tell in my research, at least), but they are issues in different countries, like the US.** Also, when I have someone from a particular label/identity/group do something bad or fucked up, I'm not labeling that entire group as bad. That human just happened to be shitty and happened to have that label as part of their identity.

**Notable changes from original source**: I have not read the manga. As of right now (writing this fanfic), I'm caught up with the anime, which is currently at 3 seasons. I also changed UA High School to UA University. In my brain, it just makes more sense, and is sooooooooo much easier to write than High School. Writing 14 and 16 year olds was too weird, when I tried to stay closer to canon. All the characters in this are 18+. In terms of timeline, it roughly leaves off from where the 3rd season ended, with the major events in tact but squished into a college fall term.

Most of this story centers around the H.T.S., which, for a little backstory (I explain more in the story) is an agency that the Japanese Government created 12 years earlier (I made it up, just for clarification) in order to combat the rise in human trafficking and related crimes. They're a relatively small agency with limited resources for what they're tasked to do. Because of quirks, the human trafficking industry has sky rocketed and the black market was flooded with people, for the purpose of trafficking people with ideal or sought after quirks. They commonly work with other organizations and government agencies.

You'll learn more changes throughout the story. I've changed the sexual orientations of some characters, added my own twists here and there, and added in some stereotypical college themes.

I hope you guys enjoy it, despite all the darkness (or because of it!)! Let me know what you think in a review, or if you just want to follow/fave, that's okay, too! Whatever you decide, have a nice day, and thank you for checking out my story!

**Summary:** Yurei Kasai transfers to UA College after an incident at her last school. Born with two powerful quirks, Yurei has to deal with the pressure of people making assumptions of her and expecting impossible things. She wants to save the most vulnerable people in society and make the world a better place, but sometimes, that requires making people a little uncomfortable. Bakugouxoc, katsukixoc.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Introductions_

Day 1, Sunday, 2:30 PM

Her cheeks were red.

Her mother wouldn't stop squishing her face with her hands and crying.

Yurei, her mother, and father stood in her new dorm room.

For the most part, the room was bare. Her mother got her a few new fun things for the new dorm, including a fuzzy lamp, a comforter covered in sunflowers, and some small lights to hang with her photos on the wall. One of the few things she brought from her old dorm were the photos of her as a teenager with various heroes in America and Japan. A few of the photos were signed hero headshots.

Everything else from her old dorm was given away or sold. All of it had a memory with Ikari, and hurt too much.

While her mother squished her face and cried, saying how she didn't want to leave her little girl again, her father was stoic. He was looking at the photo wall, only occasionally looking their way.

UA was his first college choice for her. This isn't how he wanted her to end up here, but he did comment that maybe this was "an opportunity to restart your career right."

He was trying to be positive.

"Is the yoga mat okay? Is there anything else you need? More clothes?" Her mother asked.

"No, I'm fine, mom. Everything is going to be fine. I just won't use my second quirk for a while." Yurei said, and her mother's mouth set into a stern frown.

"Don't underestimate that quirk. It's gotten me out of a lot of bad situations, and the doctors confirmed that it doesn't cause any brain damage to people. What Ikari did was his fault, not yours." Her mother insisted.

"If you need any help, Mirio is close by. He's just two dorm buildings away." Her father added.

"See? I'll be fine. No one will mess with Mirio's cousin. They'd get wrecked by him." Yurei said, and her mother narrowed her watery eyes, going for Yurei's cheek again.

"I know you're nervous, sweetie. You don't have to start school again so soon." Her mother reminded her.

"We should get going." Her father said, and nodded to the door.

"My baby girl!" Her mom exclaimed, and pulled Yurei in for another hug, crying into her hair.

After another hour, her parents finally left. Her father gave her a nod of his head, experience telling him to keep his distance, and put an arm around his wife as they left.

As soon as they were gone, two girls emerged by the door, carrying smiles and small waves. One of them was a bit plump, with shoulder length hair and dark eyes, while the other was smaller, with a frog like demeanor.

"Hi there, neighbor. My name is Ochaco." Ochaco, the larger one introduced with a wave.

"And I'm Tsu." The other introduced.

"My name is Yurei." Yurei said with a smile.

1.

Day 1, 5:30 PM

As Tsu and Ochaco gave her a tour, they also introduced her to a lot of the people in their dorm.

Since Yurei was joining the school right before the second term, most of their dorm had already gotten to know each other. At least, they knew their faces, and formed their small groups.

Most of them were friendly enough. Their building was split in two: half was for boys, the other half girls, and the first floor was co-ed. There was a lot of mixing on the first floor.

"So what's your quirk?" A guy, Eijirou, asked from one of the couches filled with students. He had a tuft of red hair and charismatic smile.

The people around him listened aptly, waiting for her answer.

"I can go through things." Yurei said simply.

"Eh? You can phase through stuff?!" A green-haired boy exclaimed.

"Yeah. It's a more calm version of Mirio's quirk. He's my cousin." Yurei said, and got an expected round of surprised gasps.

"He's your cousin!?"

She nodded along, answering their questions.

2.

Day 2, Monday, 8:50 AM

Yurei sat in the middle of her first class, next to Uraraka and Tsu. It was a large lecture hall.

She had another ten minutes until it started.

As the room started filling up, there was a boy that sat directly in front of her. His hair was a messy blond, going up in every direction and unkempt. He was majorly depressed, anxious, and high strung. His emotional vibes were ridiculously powerful, irritating and distracting her. His emotions were loud.

At her old school, and even high school, feeling the occasional overly stressed teenager wasn't unusual. This kid, though- he was ready to explode. Big time.

"They let you back in class, shit head?" Eijirou spoke as he took a seat next to the blond. All she could see of him was that mass of blonde hair.

"Fuck off and die. It was only a few days." The blonde spat angrily.

"Bakugou!" Ochaco said in a loud, chipper voice, causing him to turn around.

_Oh, shit, that guy. He's been in the news a lot._

His cold red eyes locked with her dark ones, sending her a glare, and she glared back.

"This is Yurei! She's new here. Yurei, Bakugou, Bakugou, Yurei!" Ochaco introduced cheerily.

"Yo." Yurei said with a peace sign.

"She's Mirio's cousin. She's probably pretty strong." Eijirou said, and Bakugou's eye twitched as his glare hardened.

He was in so much pain.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are, I'll kick your ass in a fight." Bakugou seethed.

"She just transferred here, Bakugou, be nice!" Ochaco said, and then whispered to Yurei, "He's never nice, avoid him when you can."

"What other classes are you signed up for, Yurei?" Eijirou asked casually.

"This class, Hero History in Japan, Psychology of Victims, and General Physical Training II. I'm planning to join my dad's division in taking down human trafficking rings once I graduate, so I'll be taking a lot of classes in psychology." Yurei answered.

"Aw, I only have this and training with you. Aren't you taking all those classes, Katsuki?" Eijirou asked, and Bakugou glared at him.

"You're taking Psychology of Victims?" Tsu giggled at Bakugou, who turned his glare to her.

The room quieted, and they all looked to Aizawa, their instructor.

3.

Day 2, Monday, 12:50 PM

As she showed up to her psychology class, which was much smaller than the lecture hall, she paused by the doorway, out of the way.

… she didn't know anyone here.

All of them seemed to be paired or grouped up.

When she went to Eikikou University, she had her best friend to cling and chat with. They went everywhere together; signed up for the same classes, had the same friends, had the same hobbies… she was never alone.

"Yurei!" Someone spoke as they walked in, flashing her a friendly grin. Their tuft of green hair looked familiar.

"I'm sorry, what's your name again?" Yurei asked.

"MOVE IT, DEKU!" a voice shouted behind him, causing them to jump as the green-haired boy was shoved out of the way.

Bakugou sent them both a cold glare.

His depression was overwhelming. She could sense him from down the hall.

"S-sorry Ka-chan!"

"Hn." Bakugou grunted, and strode across the room to a seat, where he lounged cockily. He leaned back, putting his feet on the table, and shoved his backpack into the chair next to him.

"All of my classes are with him, apparently." Yurei said awkwardly.

"Where were you going to sit?" Deku asked with a smile, and offered to sit with her.

4.

Day 2, Monday, 7:00 PM

That night, she ate alone in her room.

Cup noodles.

She didn't feel like leaving.

She sat on her bed, with the main light off, and fuzzy new lamp on. Her noodles tasted fine. Temperature, fine.

Even after what he did, she missed him.

They grew up together.

They were practically twins. The longest they had been apart was when she studied abroad in America for a few months.

She had a lot of surgeries to fix what he did.

Some parts of her would never be the same.

5.

Day 2, Monday, 11:00 PM

That night, Katsuki grunted in the laundry room, glaring at his basket.

There were other people there. When they realized who he was, they scattered like ants. He went to the nearest open washing machine, shoved his clothes in, and then angrily threw a tide pod in there. He slammed the door shut and started it.

He pulled out his phone as he went to the sitting area, plopping down on the couch, and propped his feet up on the table. Ten new messages from his mom, most of which were either telling him to talk to her more, or telling him to "not fuck up this time." As someone new approached the laundry room, he looked up, and glared at them.

New girl.

She was frail looking, with long dark hair with light blue tips. She had changed from jeans to pajamas, which were covered in penguins. She ignored him, going to another vacant washer, and casually put her clothes inside. He was slightly intrigued as to why she hadn't run off yet. Maybe she didn't see him. Maybe she hadn't learned to be afraid of him yet.

He tried to analyze her for fighting capabilities. She lacked muscle and grace in her movements, so she probably wasn't a close range fighter, like Mirio. She was awkward and slow. She looked at him, giving him a bored expression, and walked over to the other side of the couch. Like him, she pulled out her phone, and started playing Tetris.

He turned his attention back to his own phone. Weird Hair had the same annoying vibe as Todoroki.

She'd learn soon enough.

_Just like Deku._ He thought with a glare.

6.

Day 3, Tuesday, 5:50 AM

The cold morning air nipped at Yurei's prickling arms.

She hated the cold. She hated early classes, and she wasn't in very good shape, especially compared to some of her classmates. As she quietly finished her coffee on the sidelines, near her similarly complaining female colleagues, some of their male colleagues were stretching across the running tracks.

Eijirou was one of them; shirtless and ripped, he jested with a few other ripped shirtless students. They were showing off to the girls, unsurprisingly, and Yurei found mild amusement in their antics. Most of the other guys, including the less muscular ones, shivered and hopped from one foot to another, wearing their full pants and jacket combo.

"At least we start out the day with some eye candy." Mina, one of the other girls, giggled and whispered.

"Why the fuck are you assholes shirtless?" Bakugou barked as he approached them, sending glares to the other eighteen year olds.

"Because we're men!" Eijirou yelled, and the others nodded along.

"You're all morons." Bakugou said with a roll of his eyes.

"Young heroes! Gather 'round!" Someone announced, presumably the teacher, and she looked over to see All Might walking closer to them. He was in his smaller form.

Yurei's cheeks heated up, meeting one of her idols for the second time now. All Might was going to be her teacher.

She quickly finished her coffee and tossed her cup into the garbage bin.

The cup missed, falling to the ground. She sunk her feet into the ground and quickly glided to the cup, put it in the bin, and then glided over to All Might. She stood tall, shoulders back, and hands behind her. She stood between Mina and Tsu with a big grin on her face.

"You're Kasai, right? I worked briefly with your father a few years ago. He's a good man." All Might said.

"I'm planning to work in his department after I graduate. They've had a lot of trouble finding heroes to work with them, and they need the best." Yurei told him.

"That will be a difficult position. Based on what I've heard, I have no doubt that you'll do great." All Might said with a smile, and then addressed the class to go over their course for the term.

7.

Day 3, Tuesday, 10:00 AM

Yurei quietly sipped her coffee, exhausted and trying to not fall asleep. Even though it was the first day, they still did a lot of exercise. She would be sore tomorrow.

She lounged towards the back of the room, among the hundreds of students, slouched and tired. Her notebook was open and ready, her pen next to it, and coffee by her lips. Then, of course, _he_ sat down in front of her.

He didn't seem to notice her, just going for a spot that wasn't directly next to anyone. She had sat here for that same reason.

He was so fucking angsty. His emotions were loud, like a car stereo blasting Norwegian screamo death metal. Distracting. Overwhelming.

_Stupid blonde hair. _She was beginning to hate the mere sight of him.

"Bakugou! How was your break?" A new guy, with shoulder length dark hair, asked as he sat down. Then, noticing Yurei, he ignored Bakugou and turned in his seat to address her.

He was very attracted to her.

"Hey, are you new here?" They asked.

"Yeah, just transferred here. My name is Yurei." Yurei replied kindly.

"Oh! You were in our class this morning!" He said as he smacked Bakugou's arm. Bakugou sent him a side glare. "Sorry for not introducing myself then. I'm not a morning person, so I was a bit out of it. My name is Hanta. Nice to meet you, Yurei."

"Nice to meet you, too, Hanta." Yurei said, and was slightly disappointed when he climbed over his seat to sit next to her.

"So where did you transfer from?" Hanta asked, leaning closer.

8.

Day 3, Tuesday, 1:00 PM

Early that afternoon, she started her training for work at one of the three school gyms. As she got there, she locked eyes with her cousin, whose entire face lit up.

"Yurei!" Mirio shouted, ran from the person he'd been spotting, and tackled her in a hug.

9.

Day 3, Tuesday, 10:00 PM

On her way back to her dorm, she could sense Bakugou from all the way outside. She groaned softly, tired, and slid her card into the card reader.

It glowed red, and when she pulled on the door, wouldn't budge.

She swiped it a few more times, and finally, it turned green.

When she got inside, she looked to the left, finding the main lobby absolutely packed full of people. Over twenty people were crammed together on the couch and floor, wearing pajamas, silly slippers, and blankets. Some of them were cuddled together, others awkwardly glowering at the screen, and bowls of popcorn were being passed around.

Upon noticing her, the group pointed and screamed in alarm. Then, the boys started laughing, and some of the girls started hitting them. There were screams and chainsaw sounds coming from the large TV.

"Come join us, Yurei!" Ochaco invited.

"I'm tired from work, thanks though." Yurei said with a friendly wave, and continued on her way to her room. As she reached her room, her phone rang, and she answered it as she unlocked her door.

"Yurei! How was school today?!" Her mother yelled into the phone. Yurei pushed the door open with her shoulder, and turned the light on.

"It was long. I started work today." Yurei said, and shut the door with her foot. Her bed looked so inviting and comfy.

"How did that go?"

"It went well. Mirio was there. He talked me up with the staff. Everyone has been super nice." Yurei said.

"Oh, that is such a relief! I'm so happy for you! Mirio is such a good boy." Her mother said. Too tired to take her shoes off, she phased her clothes off, and went to her dresser for pajamas. "What about that one boy? Bakugou? I did some research into him, and I want you to keep your distance from him. He's violent."

"We have the same class schedule. I can't avoid him, but I'm pretty sure that I can avoid getting in his way. I told one of the counselors about him between classes today, so hopefully they can get him help." Yurei said.

"Be careful around him. I don't want a repeat of Ikari to happen. You need to be careful." Her mother said.

Yurei momentarily froze, standing naked in her room, and tried not to look at her new scars.

"I know, mom." Yurei said.

After a while longer of chatting, she hung up, and finally got dressed.

She went straight to sleep.

10.

Day 4, Wednesday, 2:00 AM

In the late hours of the night, she awoke with a start.

Someone was terrified.

Yurei sat up, groaning at the sore muscles, and rubbed her face awake. Cold air met her bare skin, and she pulled the blanket tighter to her, frowning.

One of her neighbors needed help.

She jumped out of bed, grabbed a jacket, and glided through her door, into the hallway. As she did, she sensed that someone else was terrified, and her fuzzy mind struggled with that.

She narrowed her eyes.

Two different girls, across the hall from each other, were scared for their lives. Then, a scream came from her right.

She peaked her head through the door, concerned, and saw that Ochaco was sitting up on her bed, gasping for breath.

_Nightmare._

Yurei furrowed her eyebrows, pulling her head out, and looked around her.

_The scary movie._ She realized.

"Fucking morons." Yurei muttered, and glided back to her room. To her disappointment, they kept her up all night with their nightmares.

11.

Day 4, Wednesday, 8:50 AM

Yurei got to class early again, this time, not bothering to change out of pajamas. In fairness, a lot of students wore pajamas to their morning classes, too.

As she sipped her coffee, Tsu and Ochaco chatted about something, and she ignored them. They kept her up all fucking night with their nightmares, so she was irritable and tired; but she couldn't tell them that, since she wanted to keep her emotions quirk secret as long as possible.

"Did you get much sleep last night, Yurei? You look tired, too." Ochaco commented.

"Yeah. Still getting used to sleeping here." Yurei said, and took another sip of her hot beverage.

"We didn't get any sleep because of the scary movie we watched. I can't believe Mina lost." Ochaco said with a frown.

"You know why she lost." Tsu said, and Ochaco's shoulders fell.

"What did she lose?" Yurei asked.

"Drinking contest. The first person to jug a gallon of water chooses movies for a week. Hanta won." Ochaco said.

"Because Mina knew they would pick scary movies and it would give her a reason to hold Eijirou. Any cute guy from class, really. She'd even settle for Bakugou." Tsu explained.

"In fairness, he's a jerk, but he is attractive- he is one of the strongest heroes in our class." Ochaco defended.

"He's still terrifying. I can't imagine anyone wanting to kiss something like that." Tsu said while sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"If he was like, asleep and would never find out… maybe. Even then it would be terrifying, like kissing a shark or flesh eating insect that might kill me at any moment." Ochaco admitted.

"I know who you'd rather kiss." Tsu said, and Ochaco started waving her hands in front of her with a heavy blush.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ochaco practically yelled.

Yurei grunted when she felt the familiar cloud of angst get closer to the room. _Just talk to a fucking therapist._ She thought angrily, and watched him enter the room. Their eyes briefly locked, and she turned her attention to her notebook.

Hopefully he wouldn't read into that.

He returned to his spot, directly in front of her, and she repressed a tired sigh.

"Hey Tsu, Ochaco, Yurei! How's it going?" Eijirou greeted as he stood next to Bakugou, ignoring him.

"We didn't get any sleep last night because of the movie." Ochaco said, and Eijirou started to laugh.

"Then you're not going to get anymore sleep tonight, because we're watching Friday the 13th!" Eijirou announced.

"Oh come on!" Both girls whined, and Eijirou went back to laughing.

"Are you joining us, Yurei? It'll be fun!" Eijirou said.

"Nah, I've got work today, and then I need to do homework tonight." Yurei replied.

"Where are you working?" Eijirou asked.

"Over at the weight lifting gym. I'll be running the front desk, managing schedules and answering questions and stuff." Yurei answered.

"Oh, cool. Do you get to work out while you're working at all?" Eijirou asked.

"Not really. I heard that I'll be able to on slow days, like during finals and stuff, though." Yurei replied.

12.

Day 4, Wednesday, 4:00 PM

About an hour into her shift, she was mildly surprised to see Eijirou and some of his friends enter the gym. Most of them were well toned, and wore showy muscle shirts.

Eijirou smiled and waved to her, and the small group moved towards her desk. She smiled back.

"Hey, Yurei, how's work going?" Eijirou asked, and leaned against the counter around her desk.

"It's going pretty good, just doing paperwork. How are you?" Yurei asked politely.

"I'm doing great. Just about to do a workout." Eijirou said as he not-so-subtly showed off his muscled arms, and was about to introduce his friends, when he noticed Bakugou walk in the front door. He was dressed in sweat pants and loose hoodie, with ear buds in his ears and disinterested look on his face. "Hey, Bakugou!"

Bakugou glanced over at the smiling red head, briefly paused, but then kept walking, ignoring him.

"Whatever, I'll see him inside." Eijirou dismissed with a small wave, and started to introduce his friends.

12.

Day 4, Wednesday, 7:00 PM

Bakugou felt relaxed as he left a few hours later.

He worked out, showered, and changed into clean clothes. He vented his frustrations into the exercise equipment. He punched the shit out of that punching bag.

A shiver wracked his body as he walked, and he slouched over slightly, only having his hoodie to protect him from the cold. His hair was still wet, causing an extra chill to travel down his spine.

He hurried his pace to the dorms, ready for the dumb movie night to be over, and glared when he saw someone standing outside the dorms. They were male, a few inches taller than him with a muscular build, and shaggy dark hair. Their eyes were a striking green, and when they met Bakugou's fiery red eyes, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm supposed to meet someone here. Could you help me out?" They asked with an awkward grin, and gestured to the door.

"No. Fuck off." Bakugou barked, and the man stiffened at his words.

"I would really appreciate if you let me inside." He said.

"I would appreciate if you got the hell out of my eyesight before I kick your dumb ass into the stone age." Bakugou snapped.

That awkwardness disappeared, replaced by anger.

Bakugou smirked. He was suspended for a few days last term for picking a fight with Deku, but this asshole was trying to break into the dorms. He officially had a good reason to beat the living hell out of this guy.

Spikes protruded from the asshole's skin, those green eyes narrowing in a glare.

"I think you should let me in, friend." Weird Eyes said.

Bakugou tossed his bag next to the door, unabashedly smirking, and hishands sparked in delicious anticipation.

He loved having reasons to kill people.

13.

Day 4, Wednesday, 7:30 PM

When Yurei was talking to someone, she heard explosions somewhere on campus.

Everyone in the building paused and looked out the giant windows. Above the trees, they could see explosions going off and smoke pillars.

"What the hell is that?" Yurei wondered, and looked up when she saw the student in front of her dart out of the building and run off in a sprint.

Another explosion.

The ground rumbled slightly. The explosions seemed to be getting closer.

She stood and looked around, finding that the other people in the gym were similarly stopping and getting closer to the windows, trying to figure out what was going on.

Then, something flew at the windows. She activated her quirk, making all of the shattering glass move through her, and across the room, saw a blur of darkness encase the entire group, hopefully protecting them.

A strangled cry came out.

A whimpering sound.

When Yurei locked eyes with the person on the ground, who had smashed through the window, her eyes widened.

She froze in place.

Muscles tensing.

She forgot how to breathe.

"Oi! Don't crawl away from me, you piece of shit! I'm not done murdering you!" A voice bellowed towards the main door. Bakugou stepped into the room, his eyes wild and crazed, with a deranged grin tugging at his lips. His hands sparked as he stomped closer to Ikari, having a few drops of blood on them already, and he loomed over the man's crumpled body.

Ikari looked up at him, covered in blood, and trembling in fear.

He was bloody.

Beaten.

Terrified.

"P-p-please, no-" Ikari pleaded.

Just like she had.

"No, begging doesn't work on me," Bakugou said, and when Ikari tried to turn and crawl away, Bakugou kicked his arm, and put his foot on one of the bloodied shoulders.

Ikari cried out in pain.

He was afraid of dying.

She could feel his fear.

"Please, p-please," Ikari pleaded.

Bakugou knelt down and punched him in the face, sending more blood spraying onto the ground.

Another punch.

Another hit.

"Bakugou, stop! He's out!" Eijirou yelled, and used his hardening quirk as he pushed Bakugou back. Several teachers arrived, swarming the scene; one of which was Aizawa, who kept Bakugou's hands from sparking again.

"What the hell is going on?" Aizawa demanded as he stepped forward, and kept an eye on Bakugou.

"That asshole attacked me trying to get into the dorms. I was allowed to kick his ass!" Bakugou told him.

"We'll have the security cameras confirm that. Is he a student here?" Aizawa asked.

"I didn't recognize him. He's not from my dorm." Bakugou said with a shrug.

Ikari was unconscious.

He was bleeding a lot.

Just like she did.

Everything blurred around her, as she stared at him.

He sputtered, every so often, and she saw his chest rise and fall.

He was breathing.

He was alive.

"Hey, Yurei? You okay?" Someone asked near her.

She kept her eyes on Ikari. Someone, presumably one of the teachers, was monitoring his pulse. Making sure that he stayed alive for the paramedics.

_It would be so easy for him to die of a heart attack right now._

_So, so easy._

"Yurei?" The person spoke, and stepped into her line of sight. Eijirou was talking to her. He was wearing an old gray shirt with a hole along the collar, and his red eyes were on her. There was a slight sheen to his light skin, a bead of sweat was on his temple, and dark smudge on his cheek. She could feel his concern, feel his worry, like a dull melody.

"That's probably your first time seeing Bakugou go all out, huh? He can be pretty scary once he's set off." Eijirou said. Yurei looked around the room for him, but didn't see him. "If you're looking for Bakugou, he already left. Don't worry, he won't hurt you or anything. I wouldn't let him, don't worry."

She would need to thank him later.

"Y-yurei-" a soft voice sputtered. She walked around Eijirou, and saw that Ikari was conscious again.

As if on autopilot, her body moved towards him. For a moment she forgot what he was, what he did, and what happened. For a brief moment, they were best friends again, and she was seeing her closest friend on the planet, lying and bleeding on the ground. She knelt next to him, and his one, unswollen eye turned to her. His bloody face tried to smile.

"Y-yurei. I forgive you for what you did. I still love you." Ikari said, and his words struck a chord deep within her, in a place she didn't know existed.

Her stomach tightened, blind rage purging her of any rational thought, and she reached forward, grabbing his wrist. Her nails dug into his bloody skin.

He screamed at the top of his lungs, screaming bloody murder, and thrashed. His screams were akin to wails, his eyes wide his horror, and she'd never seen anything so mortifying yet satisfying. He squirmed and thrashed as if he was being eaten alive, in absolute pain and agony.

She etched that image into her mind, hoping to never forget it.

Whenever she was scared at night.

Whenever she woke up, thinking that he was coming for her.

Whenever she thought she saw his face in a crowd of people.

She would remember this.

He suddenly stopped, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, and body going limp.

"Yurei!" Eijirou yelled next to her, and his arms went through her. The teacher across from her started to do CPR. He was doing chest compressions.

"Yu Yu," A familiar voice spoke, and she turned, surprised to find Mirio's face merely inches from her own. "Yu Yu, stop, he's not going to hurt you. Release him."

She released her quirk.

Let go of his wrist.

He gently took her upper arm, hoisting her to her feet and moving her away as paramedics came in. They used a defibrillator to get him breathing again.

It took.

They got him onto a gourney. Ikari, unconscious, was covered in blood, bruises, and burns.

She couldn't look away from him.

"Who was that guy?" Eijirou asked near them.

"Someone that was lucky Bakugou got to them first." Mirio spoke in a low voice.

Her cousin kept a comforting arm around her. Even though he was unconscious, she could still feel the fear coming from Ikari.

If it wasn't for Mirio, she would have killed him.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I know the first chapter was a little short for my stories, but the ending seemed a little too good too keep going. ^^

Also, in regards to Izuku Midoria: Like, because in Japan people refer to each other with last names a lot, and Izuku basically has three names (Izuku, Midoria, and Deku), I stick with mostly referring to him as Deku in the stories. For the purposes of the story, it's just a nickname that everyone calls him, and he uses it as an empowerment thing, like how he decided that it would be his hero name.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Misunderstanding_

Day 5, Thursday, 5:50 AM

The next morning, Yurei showed up to class, bright and early, feeling strangely refreshed and positive. Mirio stayed the night, and with his calm emotions, she was able to block out everyone else. She actually got sleep.

She felt pretty safe at UA, now. Apparently, when people tried to break into dorms, they got wrecked. Even got a heart attack.

Yurei sat on the side of the running track, in her usual UA assigned gym clothes for the class (they were more durable than most clothes), and held her usual cup of coffee in her hands. There was a grin on her face that wouldn't leave; seeing Ikari get wrecked was one of the most satisfying experiences she had ever felt.

When Ochaco and Tsu arrived, talking groggily to each other, they sat near her. Yurei overheard that they were talking about what Bakugou did the previous day.

"I wonder if he'll get expelled this time." Tsu wondered.

"He screams about killing people too often to be a hero." Ochaco added. Then, Yurei sensed Bakugou's angst, and stood up. It wasn't quite as strong as the previous days. Beating up Ikari must have improved his mood.

Yurei moved towards him, conscious to walk instead of glide, since she knew that it weirded people out. He lazily looked up at her, not seeming entirely awake, and glared at her.

"Did you get the cookies I left outside your door?" Yurei asked.

"That was from you?" Bakugou asked, his voice a bit deeper than normal.

"Yeah. I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. Ikari probably would have tried to kill me if someone let him in. At the very least, he would have caused a lot of problems for me. I feel safer at this school because of you." Yurei told him.

He blinked at her, and even though he didn't show it, she could tell that he was touched by her words. That anxiety lessened slightly, ebbed away by a small amount of pride. "I only beat the shit out of him because I had an excuse. I don't give a shit about protecting you or whatever." Bakugou said.

"Whatever your reasons were, you were my hero yesterday. So thank you." Yurei said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Whatever." Bakugou grumbled, and shoved his shoulder into hers as he walked.

"If you ever need anything, let me know. Someone to talk to, make dinner sometime, whatever. I owe you one, so let me know." Yurei added as he walked, and the guys gave her an inquisitive look.

Yurei made her way back over to the girls, and sipped her drink again.

"Did you really just call Bakugou your hero?" Ochaco asked her.

"His ego is going to inflate to the size of this planet at this rate." Tsu added.

"A cute girl encouraging him to beat people up is going to end terribly." Ochaco said with a frown.

"You think I'm cute?" Yurei asked.

"What the hell does that mean? Of course you're cute. You're adorable. I wish that I had your body." Ochaco said. Yurei felt uneasy by the compliment, and glanced over at Bakugou, who was arguing with some of the other guys. Some of them kept glancing her way, and she caught her name every once in awhile.

1.

Day 5, Thursday, 10:00 AM

Yurei struggled to not fall asleep in her next class. Having psychology directly after training was a mistake.

She took another sip of her caffeinated drink, and checked her phone. The teacher hadn't arrived yet.

Overall, the students of the school were a little more anxious than the previous days, and she heard Bakugou's name in a lot of conversations. People were still talking about what happened.

Mirio had texted her that morning.

As she sipped her drink, she opened the text, and then smiled. He was asking if she wanted him to stay over again that night, and if she wanted to do anything this weekend. She worked from three to eleven on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but then the rest of her week was free. She only had classes Monday through Thursday, plus her Heroes General Studies course in the morning on Fridays. Most of Friday and then Saturday and Sundays were free.

Yurei contemplated her cousin's questions, and her new schedule. Originally she had planned to stay low, not doing anything except the bare minimum to get used to her schedule and not overstress herself, but doing something fun this weekend sounded nice. She didn't know what, though.

"Hey… Yurei…." Deku spoke, getting her attention.

No one was looking their way, too busy with their own conversations.

"What happened yesterday? Eijirou said that you knew the person that Ka-chan attacked." Deku asked in a low voice.

"Ikari attacked me at my last school. He nearly killed me. If Bakugou had let him into the building, or if someone else had, he could have finished the job." Yurei replied, also in a low voice.

Deku blinked back in surprise, pausing, and then muttered "Oh... that's why you thanked him this morning."

"When I first came here, I had the fear that Ikari could sneak onto campus and hurt me. Now that I know that people who try to sneak into dorms get blown up, I'm not as worried. Bakugou might be extreme, but I'm grateful for what he did." Yurei explained.

"... that's great. I'm glad that he helped you." Deku said, but she sensed unease from him. She didn't need her quirk to see that the topic made him nervous.

"Do you two have a history? You and Bakugou?" Yurei asked.

"You could say that… I've known him practically my entire life. We've… gone through some stuff recently." Deku said, and she nodded in understanding.

"People change when they get older. Are you okay?" Yurei asked.

Bakugou was towards the back on the opposite side of the room, out of earshot.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We had a pretty big fight recently, and we were both temporarily suspended. It was right before finals, which was hard, but we managed to pass our classes. We worked through some things and cleared the air. There was some misunderstandings that we both had." Deku said.

"So do you two talk, now? Are you closer?" Yurei asked.

"Not exactly. More like… we just understand each other a little better." Deku answered uneasily.

I wonder if Bakugou just needs another good fight to talk through whatever he's dealing with. Yurei wondered.

"He seems pretty lonely." Yurei commented.

"That's by choice. He wants to become the number one hero, and he'll break anyone who stands in his way." Deku said, and she glanced over at Bakugou across the room. He was munching on the cookies she gave him. Like them, he seemed tired from their morning training.

She made sure to not let her gaze linger. She didn't want him to think that she was watching him.

"Has anyone tried to reach out to him? Help him deal with his issues?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah. A lot of people have tried to reach out to him, but he doesn't care." Deku said with a shrug. "I don't think anyone can reach him. He's just… blocked off. He doesn't care about other people… not like most people, at least. Ka-chan isn't a bad person, he just…."

Deku seemed to struggle, trying to talk about Bakugou in a way that wasn't insulting.

"I don't think he's a bad person, either. I've met a lot of bad people. He doesn't hurt people for pleasure; he does it to ease his depression. A therapist would do wonders for him. Too bad he'd probably tell them to 'fuck off and go to hell'." Yurei said, and tried to mimic his voice. Deku cracked up laughing.

2.

Day 5, Thursday, 10:05 AM

Upon hearing Deku's laughter, Bakugou's red eyes snapped to the nerd, and he glared.

Deku. He mentally growled, and wished he could beat the shit out of him again. Unfortunately, that would probably get him permanently expelled.

Deku got under his skin like no other.

He wanted to crush the little twerp.

Then, the nerd in question looked his way, and froze in place. His eyes went wide, his body tensed, and he made a weird face, as if he was a demented deer frozen in headlights.

That fucking nerd was talking about me, wasn't he? Bakugou thought angrily. As if reading his mind, Deku further tensed, with sweat rolling across his skin. The girl next to him turned, her hazel eyes meeting him, and she showed no outward emotion.

Something inside him churned uncomfortably, a feeling unusual to him, but he kept her gaze. Her face looked unusually attractive in that light, her skin smooth, and the slight eye shadow brought out the green in her eyes. He had the unusual urge to run his hand along her jaw and touch her soft skin, curious about the texture, and if she was as soft as she looked.

Fuck off. He thought angrily, not wanting to deal with dumb feelings like that.

Relationships, sex, and anything inbetween were useless and a waste of time.

For a few more seconds, their eyes remained locked, until she finally looked away.

She's confident. Deku, next to her, tensed again when Katsuki looked his way. If she makes friends with losers like him, she can't be that strong.

3.

Day 5, Thursday, 7:00 PM

That evening, Bakugou cursed angrily as he went from the main lounge to the laundry room. He scared a couple of girls on the couch.

When he pulled his sticky shirt off, which clung to his skin like slick glue, they screamed and ran. He threw the disgusting garment straight into the washing machine, and then walked over to the lost and found, finding a pair of men's pants only slightly bigger than his usual size.

He tugged his pants off, threw them into the washing machine as well, and turned to glare as Denki, Eijirou, and Mineta came inside. They were still laughing.

Bakugou sent them a seething glare, which didn't work to shut them up, and looked around, finding that they were the only ones in the room.

His boxers had been soaked, too.

He tugged them off and changed into the gray pants, and then shoved the dirty boxers in with his other clothes.

They were still laughing.

"If that stains, you're paying for new clothes!" Katsuki yelled at them.

"Have you guys watched the DVD yet?" Mineta asked, changing the conversation and causing them to pause.

"What DVD?" Denki asked.

"Someone left a porno DVD outside everyone's door in the boys side of our dorm. It's pretty good!" Mineta informed them.

"... why would someone leave pornos lying around?" Eijirou asked, confused.

"Oi, do you guys know anything about this?" Hanta asked as he joined their group. He was holding up a DVD box, which was still in the packaging. Brand new.

There was a half naked woman with stars on her breasts on the cover, making a "surprised" face, and there was a dildo next to her face.

"That's the DVD I was talking about! It's a different edition than mine!" Mineta said, and reached up to grab it from his hands. He intensely read the back cover, studying the object as if it were a sacred relic.

"Who the hell buys porn on DVD anymore?" Denki asked.

"Some weirdo probably did it." Eijirou said.

"Maybe it's a prank? Maybe the disk has videos of kittens or something." Denki suggested.

"Mine was real. These are real." Mineta said distractedly. Katsuki rolled his eyes and started the washing machine.

"Maybe it's a promotional thing? All the DVDs I saw had this girl on the cover." Hanta suggested.

"What if we watch them as a group? Everyone has a different one, so we can watch them all together." Mineta suggested.

"Watching pornos together? Wouldn't that be weird?" Eijirou asked.

"We can watch it for the story. This one is kind of funny; a woman goes to a party, thinking it's a normal party, and then it turns out to be a swingers party." Hanta said.

"Mine is about Sleeping Beauty. She doesn't do a lot of sleeping, though." Mineta said.

"Katsuki, what do you think?" Denki asked.

"I think you're a piece of shit for spilling that crap all over me!" Katsuki shouted at him.

"What if we played this instead of the horror movie?" Mineta suggested.

"NO! GOD, NO!" The guys screamed all at once.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, and went over to the couch to wait. He pulled out his phone.

"If we're going to do this, we should do it at night. AFTER the movie with the girls." Eijirou said, and both Denki and Hanta nodded in agreement.

"What if we ask them if-"

"NO!" Eijirou, Denki, and Hanta yelled.

"WHO DID THIS?!" Someone screeched from the other room, and all of them turned to the source. "What kind of messed up person puts pornos in front of people's doors?!"

The group froze, their eyes wide in alarm, and then left to join the crowd forming in the other part of the main floor.

Katsuki glanced at the washing machine.

He had another twenty minutes, at least.

Maybe a fight will break out. He wondered, and then shrugged. He moved to his feet, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked out to the main lounge area. A small girl with pink hair was yelling while waving around one of the DVDs, and she had a group of girls behind her that were similarly blushing and angry.

"They showed up on the boys' side, too. No idea who did it, though." Eijirou said with his hands in front of him.

"Maybe it was a girl that did it." Mineta offered.

"A girl would never do this! You're all perverts!" The pink-haired girl screeched as she pointed wildly at them.

Katsuki briefly tried to remember who the girl was.

She had a weird quirk; fabricating "ghosts", which could possess objects and attack people. Last term, she used them to possess small things in her hair and fall on the ground, precisely where her competition was running, to trip them.

Running on spikes hurt. Katsuki had to get running shoes with a thin layer of metal in them, after that.

As she yelled and raved, he noticed that she was dressed to be "girly", with dozens of tiny girly keychains and charms, but most of them were pointy. She could probably make her ghosts possess anything on her in an instant and stab someone's eye out with it. The quirk was useful, but the way she used it made it only annoying at best. She wasn't a threat to him.

"Was this what you were going to make us watch tonight? Porn!?" She suddenly screeched.

"No! Of course not!" Eijirou and the others yelled in defense.

"Then what is he running around half naked for!?" She yelled, and suddenly pointed at Katsuki.

"I like killing people, not fucking them." Katsuki said with a glare, and the entire room cringed and inched away from him.

"Look, I swear, we didn't do it. One of our theories is that this is a promotional thing by the company that made the movies. Someone probably accidentally let them in, or maybe they were a family member, and figured that a prestigious college campus was probably a good place to advertise their work." Eijirou explained.

"Well, I'm filing a complaint to the school. This is grossly inappropriate!"

Katsuki was mildly amused by the high tensions in the room. Everyone was embarrassed, upset, and red-faced. Idiots.

4.

Day 5, Thursday, 11:15 PM

Yurei was tired as she arrived at the dorm that night. She did an extra shift that evening.

Instead of walking, she just glided. She didn't even bother using her card to get inside.

"AAAH! IT'S A GHOST!" Someone screamed, and she looked over, seeing that Mineta was the source. He was pointing at her frantically, his eyes wide in alarm, and mouth gaping like a fish.

"That's just Yurei!" Mina said with a laugh. "Yurei, join us! We're watching The Notebook."

"I'm too tired. Thanks, though." Yurei said.

"You can sleep in my arms, then. I want to cuddle you!" Mina said with a smile and tilt of her head.

… cuddling did sound nice….

… Mina's emotions were usually pleasant….

"Alright." Yurei shrugged. There wouldn't be any screaming, at least.

She walked over to the massive group, and people started to make room for her. Mina patted the space in front of her, and opened her blanketed arms.

Yurei sat down in front of her, and leaned back. Mina's back was against the couch, pillow under her, legs on either side of Yurei. She wrapped her arms around her with the blanket, enveloping her in warmth.

Mina was soft and cuddly, and Yurei missed being held by someone.

Mina was happy and slightly aroused, but Yurei didn't mind. It wasn't as intense or aggressive as most people.

Yurei fell asleep almost instantly, finding comfort in her warmth.

4.

Day 6, Friday, 8:50 AM

The next morning, Yurei was sore and tired as she drank her coffee, but she did feel a little more relaxed than the previous days. Her nap in Mina's arms had been nice.

Her usual class buzzed in conversation, and to her slight annoyance and confusion, a lot of the guys in the class were aroused. Most of the class consisted of men.

They probably have dates this weekend. Yurei surmised.

"Yurei, what do you think?" Ochaco asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"About what?" Yurei asked.

"Have you not heard about the DVDs?" Ochaco asked.

"No." Yurei replied.

"Well, during classes yesterday, someone put porn in front of everyone's door. Since all of the DVDs are of the same actress, people think it's a promotional thing. Hana and a bunch of other girls were really upset by it. They made a huge fuss and accused the guys of doing it." Ochaco explained.

"What's the actress's name?" Yurei asked.

"Umm… I don't remember." Ochaco replied.

"Pussy Panda." Tsu said, and Ochaco's cheeks heated up in embarrassment.

Ikari probably did it to embarass me. Yurei thought with a frown. As Ochaco and Tsu continued talking about it, Yurei got her phone out and texted her dad, letting her know that Ikari might have gotten on campus or paid someone to do it.

Yurei didn't really care if people knew about her mom; they always found out, one way or another. Hopefully, however, people in college were mature enough to not treat her differently because of it.

To her surprise and relief, when Bakugou arrived, his usual angsty aura clouded the other emotions in the room. She preferred his angst to sensing men's arousal.

"How are you all doing today? Any plans for the weekend?" Eijirou asked with his usual charismatic smile.

"I'm going to hang out with my cousin on Saturday. We're going to the movies and then playing video games with some of his friends." Yurei answered.

"Your cousin Mirio?" Eijirou asked.

"Yeah."

"Man, you are so lucky." Eijirou said with a slight pout, but then looked to Ochaco and Tsu. "Are we still doing movies this weekend?"

"Well, the original bet was for a full week, so I guess so." Ochaco said.

"Yeah, but it's the weekend. If people want to do something else, we're not going to force them to watch it or anything." Eijirou said.

"What's the movie going to be tonight?" Tsu asked.

"Well, after yesterday, we want to do a movie that everyone could agree on. Any complaints with Guardians of the Galaxy?" Eijirou asked.

"I love that movie!" Ochaco said.

"I like it, too." Tsu said with a smile.

"Mind if I join you guys? That's my favorite movie." Yurei asked.

"Of course!" Tsu said.

"Are you going to watch it with us, shit head?" Eijirou asked Bakugou, who sent him a glare. "Whatever. I'm excited. Mina makes the best popcorn." Eijirou said with a grin.

5.

Day 6, Friday, 8:00 PM

"Ochaco! Cuddle me!" Mina yelled from the floor. There were slightly less people than usual that night, with only a dozen total, and Mina was one of the many dressed in fuzzy pajamas, blanket, and slippers.

Mina was ready.

"I don't like to cuddle. Sorry." Ochaco said awkwardly.

"Tsu?" Mina asked.

"Sorry." Tsu replied, just as awkward.

"I'll cuddle you, Mina." Eijirou said, and plopped down next to her.

"Yay!" She cheered, and jumped up to join him on the couch. He put an arm over her shoulders, and she cuddled into his side, smiling happily. Mina was like a cuddly cat, just wanting to snuggle.

"Has everyone seen this?" Mashirao asked as he sat on the ground near them. His large tail wound around the side of the couch.

"Yeah." They all replied as they started getting comfy. Eijirou and Mina took up half the couch, and Bakugou took the other half. There was space for a few people between them, but no one wanted to sit next to Bakugou.

Ochaco, Tsu, Hana, and Yurei sat together by the table, dressed in pajamas and already eating the bowl of popcorn. The rest were littered around the room, playing on their phones while they waited for people to arrive.

Hanta stood and walked over to the DVD case on the table, picking it up, and taking out the DVD. He put it into the DVD player, and pushed it inside. Eijirou used the remote to turn the TV on.

Then, instead of Guardians of the Galaxy, they heard loud moaning.

Everyone froze in horror.

"Meow! Kitty needs a dick." Yurei's mother said, dressed in a pink thong, skimpy bikini top, paws, tail, and cat ears. She took up half the screen, pawing at them, and the menu popped up next to her.

"AAAH THAT IS NOT WHAT I PUT IN! MAKE IT STOP!" Hanta screamed, and frantically tried to turn the DVD player off, but then accidentally pressed play.

"WHERE DID THE REMOTE GO!?" Eijirou yelled as he looked around him frantically, and accidentally knocked Mina over, who fell on Ochaco and Tsu, causing the popcorn to go flying over everyone.

The TV kept moaning.

"MAKE IT STOP!" Multiple people screamed.

"WHERE IS THE REMOTE!?" Eijirou screamed as he frantically searched, picking up Mashirao's tail and the couch in the process.

Bakugou yelled at him as he almost fell off the couch.

The TV kept moaning.

As everyone screamed in horror, Yurei calmly floated over to the TV, ignoring the image of her mother, and looked around the side of the TV, finding the power button.

Hanta seemed to be the only one to notice, falling to the ground and crying in embarrassment, while the others kept screaming and yelling at each other. Yurei knelt down, calmly opening the DVD player.

She sensed something in the TV, or near it.

The TV turned back on on its own.

The DVD player tried to claim the DVD again.

Something was messing with the electronics.

She grabbed the plastic piece holding the DVD, pulling it out, and saw that the Guardian's of the Galaxy disk was inside. As she reached for it, she found that there was a sticker sleeve on top, which was covering the porn label underneath.

This is elaborate, even for Ikari… especially for Ikari.

She pulled the DVD out, pressed it against the TV stand, and broke it in half. The entity inside the TV wandered off.

I can't tell anyone, because they don't know my quirk.

Her thoughts drifted back to Ikari, and she wondered if he could be involved, or maybe someone else. Perhaps there was someone at this school that held a grudge against her.

Yurei wasn't exactly popular. Her quirk made people uneasy, and like in Ikari's case, some people assumed that her quirk was more powerful than it was. The more paranoid people thought that she actively manipulated everyone around her, and at all times. Because of that, Yurei didn't go particularly out of her way to make people like her. Ikari used to be all she needed, so she didn't really care when the occasional student got weird around her.

"I swear, I didn't mean it," Hanta cried next to her.

Ikari would know that she wouldn't be embarrassed by something like this, though. She'd become desensitized to her mother's old life long ago. Her classmates were suffering more than she was.

Too bad Yurei couldn't remember all the people from elementary, middle, and high school that were weird around her. There were a few that were more odd than most, but Ikari usually kept them at bay for her.

6.

Day 6, Friday, 10:00 PM

Since the movie was a bust, some of the girls met in Mina's room to hang out.

Yurei, Ochaco, Tsu, Toru, Mina, Momo, Kyoka, and Hana, all gathered in a circle. They wielded snacks of all variety, soda, and of course, their phones. Between chatting they would passively check their social media, text messages, and so forth.

"Let's play truth or dare!" Hana exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes!" Mina cheered with equal enthusiasm, and roped in everyone else to play. Since Yurei was bad at coming up with questions and dares, she pulled up an app on her phone that came up with random ones for her.

"What's that?" Ochaco whispered.

"It comes up with random questions and dares for the game." Yurei whispered back.

"That is such a good idea! I can never come up with good ideas for this game!" Ochaco exclaimed.

"Mina! Truth or Dare!" Hana exclaimed.

"Dare!" Mina yelled back.

"Jump on your bed!" Hana yelled, and the matching haired student got up, and went over to jump on her bed.

"Yurei! Truth or Dare!" Mina yelled.

"Dare." Yurei replied.

"Make out with me!"

Yurei paused, blinking in surprise as the pink-haired girl bounded towards her. She straddled her, putting one leg on either side of her waist, and quickly leaned in for a kiss.

"This is not the kind of truth or dare games I like to play!" Ochaco exclaimed.

Yurei was surprised by how much she enjoyed the kiss. Mina tasted like strawberries, her lips soft, and emotions felt nice. She was excited, in numerous ways, and was holding herself back from glomping her. She was soft, warm, and happy.

Mina's tongue came out, eagerly tasting Yurei's lips, and Yurei tilted her head to the side, allowing her to enter.

"Um…" Tsu murmured nearby.

Mina felt so nice.

So gentle.

Having her in her arms stirred something inside her, wanting to feel more of her, she gently caressed Mina's thighs, causing her to giggle and pull back.

Her pajama pants were soft.

Yurei looked up into Mina's black and yellow eyes, transfixed by them, and was disappointed when she pulled back and returned to her original seat. Yurei felt extremely warm, and upon feeling the gazes in the room, she coughed into her hand and went for her bottle of coconut water.

"Can we make a rule not to do that?" Ochaco requested.

"But that's no fun." Hana said with a pout. Mina seemed a bit embarrassed, a smile tugging at her lips, and she similarly distracted herself with a drink of water.

"Earlier, with the video, was bad enough. I don't want to do anything sexual." Ochaco told them.

"So spin the bottle is out of the question?" Hana teased.

"I'm leaving. Good night, guys." Ochaco said as she stood, and Tsu got up as well.

"Oh come on, we were just having fun." Toru said.

"I think I'll go to. It's getting late." Momo said, standing as well. They hurriedly grabbed their snacks and left.

"... it is getting kind of late…." Mina said awkwardly, and scratched the back of her head.

"I guess. We can do something tomorrow." Hana said with a disappointed sigh. As the group got up to leave, Yurei made sure to be extra slow. She dragged her feet, so that once the other girls left, Yurei was the last one to linger by Mina's door.

They both exchanged an awkward smile.

"I liked the kiss. If you want to kiss again sometime, let me know." Yurei said, her cheeks heating up at the offer. That hadn't been her first kiss, but despite the awkwardness, it was probably the most pleasurable. Most boys were awkward and sweaty.

Mina smiled, and thankfully, Yurei didn't sense any horror or disgust. Mina stepped forward, to her doorway, and leaned in to give a softer, gentler kiss than before. Yurei leaned into her lips, and reached up, caressing the side of her face. She gently moved her thumb along her cheek, and reached the tips of her other fingers along her neck.

A surge of emotions poured from Mina, and Yurei wanted to continue, but Mina pulled back, and gave her a smile. Her cheeks were red.

"On another night, maybe?" Mina asked.

"Sure. Goodnight, Mina." Yurei said, and stepped back, into the hallway.

They gave each other small waves, and Yurei moved slowly down the hallway, wishing that she could go back inside.

Yurei had never considered that she might like girls.

7.

Day 7, Saturday, 10:00 AM

Katsuki sighed from the lounge, working on his homework with a few others, and grunted when he heard the familiar patter of feet from Mineta.

He hated Mineta.

"Did you guys see the video of Mina and Yurei kissing!?" Mineta shouted at the top of his lungs.

"What?" Eijirou and the others gasped, and got closer.

Even Katsuki was curious. They all gathered around Mineta's phone, huddled together, and watched the video on his phone.

"This is not the kind of truth or dare games I like to play!" Ochaco exclaimed in the background, and the image was a side angle of Yurei and Mina kissing. Mina's hair and skin were unmistakable, and Yurei's blue-tipped hair stood out. They both seemed to be really into it.

Mina's hands were on either side of Yurei's face, her legs around her, pressing their midsections together. She moved against Yurei, getting closer to her, and Yurei leaned in, pressing her breasts against her. Her hands went up Mina's thighs, towards her butt.

Then, Mina pulled away, and the look they gave each other was smoldering.

The video stopped.

"Where did you get that?" Eijirou asked.

Katsuki moved away from the other men, feeling a little too hot and bothered, and tried to focus on his history homework.

"Someone emailed it to me." Mineta answered.

"Man, that was so hot!" Denki exclaimed.

"What happened after the video cut off?" Hanta asked.

Upon hearing the elevator, the group moved further into the lounge, across the room, and continued whispering. Katsuki plopped down in his seat, propping his feet up again, and went back to reading.

8.

Day 7, Saturday, 10:30 AM

Yurei couldn't stop smiling that morning.

As she went through her closet, looking for something to wear, she talked to her mom on the phone.

"She's super cute, mom. I really like her. Do you think dad would flip out if I got a girlfriend?" Yurei asked.

"I think he'd be thrilled. Oh, I'm so happy for you, Yurei. Are you going to ask her out?" Her mom asked.

"I might. I'll see how her reaction is to me next time we see each other; last night could have just been her being impulsive. I don't want to make any assumptions." Yurei replied.

"I think it would be so great if you dated a girl, Yurei. They're always so much more gentle and considerate than men." Her mom replied.

"I'm surprised that I never considered them before. That kiss was a lot better than any that I've had with boys." Yurei said.

"I support you no matter what you do, Yurei. Just make sure not to push yourself too much. You've been through a lot recently, and you need to take things slow." Her mother reminded her.

"I know, mom." Yurei replied, but she had a good feeling about Mina. Then, she heard loud banging from next door, and looked towards her door.

"OCHACO! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Mina yelled at the top of her lungs. This didn't sound like happy yelling, either; she was angry about something.

"I've got to go. Love you, bye." Yurei said, and hung up.

She quickly went out to the hallway, just as Ochaco was opening her door. "Did you record Yurei and I last night!?"

Then, Mina held up her phone, which seemed different than usual, and played something. Ochaco's cheeks turned bright red, her eyes widening in horror, and she shook her hands in front of her.

"N-no! No, of course not!" Ochaco yelled.

"Then who did!? I've questioned every person that was there that night and no one has any fucking idea who did it!" Mina screamed, and tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"How do you know that Mineta didn't sneak a camera into your room?" Ochaco asked, and Mina froze in place.

"Let me see the video." Yurei said.

As the two girls headed down the hallway, to Mina's room, Yurei watched the video. All things considered, it was a pretty flattering angle. She tried to recall where everyone was sitting that night, and what part of the room they were at. The closest person would have been Momo, and she easily could have made a camera to record them.

She also could have made an extra remote for the TV, and cover sticker for the DVD.

Once they reached Mina's room, Mina started tearing through the room, searching for a camera. She ended up finding a small camera on the floor by her bookcase. It had looked like an innocuous ball of hair in the carpet.

"I'M GOING TO MURDER HIM!" Mina screamed at the top of her lungs.

9.

Day 7, Saturday, 11:30 PM

Late that night, Bakugou was up late doing his laundry, when he heard someone enter. He sent them a glare, expecting them to cringe and run, but he was surprised to meet those stunning hazel eyes again.

She largely ignored him, going straight for a laundry machine, and threw her clothes inside. As he watched her, he gulped down the lump in his throat, and thought back to that video. I shouldn't have watched the damn thing.

Seeing Mina kick Mineta's ass over it had been hilarious, though. That video was staying on his phone forever.

Blue Hair Girl slammed the washing machine door a little harder than necessary, cursed, and then threw the tidepod in. When she set it to go, her laundry started swirling and getting soaked in the soapy water.

When she turned his way, he returned his attention to his phone, and pulled up the video of Mineta getting his ass kicked. They were both terrible fighters. Terrible, weak, pathetic fighters, which only made it more enjoyable to watch.

Mineta cried. A lot.

"Is that a video of Mina beating up Mineta?" Blue Hair Girl asked.

"Yeah." Bakugou nodded. She looked a little closer, and gave an impressed nod.

"Nice angle. Can you send me a copy?"

"No." Bakugou replied.

"Pretty please?"

He looked up at her, into her wide, cute eyes. She looked like an adorable rabbit, tilting its head up and waiting for another treat.

He was strangely tempted to say "yes."

"You could send me the kissing video as a trade." Bakugou replied, and mentally kicked himself at the ridiculous response.

"Mina deleted it. I still owe you a favor, though. I could kiss you on the cheek." She replied, and Bakugou's eyes widened slightly. He didn't expect her to be so forward.

"So you're a slut?" Bakugou asked.

"I'm not ashamed of who I spend my time with, or how I spend it with them." She replied, not seeming offended in the slightest. "What if I traded you something for the video? I usually make sushi for my lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays. I could make you extra those days."

"So, sushi for the video?"

"Yeah. You can even request what kind." She replied.

"Red Tiger Salmon?"

"I'll have to look up the recipe, but sure. I'll even set a reminder to do a little shopping tomorrow for ingredients."

Katsuki contemplated the deal. Free food is free food. Home made, too.

"Fine. What's your email?" He asked.

She smiled, and sat next to him before telling him. He typed it into the box, and had her check it was correct before saving.

"I'll drop off the sushi in our general studies class those days." She said, and Katsuki nodded in confirmation. She went to the other side of the couch, propped her feet up on the table, and started playing on her phone. He heard the faint sounds of Mineta crying and Mina screaming at him, and Blue Hair Girl chuckled along.

"Yurei, Yurei, Yurei," Someone spoke quickly as they entered the room, and hopped next to Blue Hair Girl, kneeling on the couch next to her. Her back was to him, but he recognized Mina's bright pink hair and skin. "Someone's coming in to do a video camera sweep through all of the girl's rooms in an hour."

"That's good. I was a little concerned, honestly." Blue Hair Girl said.

"Why weren't you angry at Mineta, earlier? That was you on that video, too, and everyone saw it." Mina asked.

"You were angry enough for the both of us." Blue Hair Girl said, and Mina started to cackle, in what he assumed was supposed to be laughter. Katsuki glared at the sound.

"I guess I did go a little nuts." Mina admitted.

"I got a video of it."

"Let me see!" Mina screeched, and they started to watch the video together. Katsuki rolled his eyes, and tried to distract himself by looking up videos of hero fights. "Oh my gosh! I love this! Send it to me, please!" Mina laughed excitedly, and started hitting Blue Hair Girl's arm over and over again.

Katsuki glared again.

"Bakugou is the one that got the video. I traded him sushi for it."

"Nice!" Mina said, and turned to him. "Good job! I love this!"

"Whatever." Katsuki replied. She rolled her eyes with a smile, and turned back to Blue Hair Girl.

"How was your day with Mirio? Did you have fun?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, we had a good time. It was pretty cool hanging out with the Big Three."

"Eeeeeh?! You got to casually hang out with the Big Three?!" Mina shrieked in surprise, and Katsuki raised his head again.

Are you fucking kidding me? The Big Three?

"Yeah. They're pretty fun. I suck at video games, but it was still fun." Blue Hair Girl said.

"You're so lucky! I wish I had a cousin like that! Do you get to train with them, too?" Mina asked.

"Nah. Mirio might help me build some muscle soon, though. Because of my quirk I can be a bit lazy and weak."

"You're going to work out with Mirio!?" Mina shrieked.

"Do you want to join us? Then I won't be the only weak person there. He benches four hundred pounds without a problem." Blue Hair Girl said.

"Oh my gosh! Of course I would!" Mina exclaimed, and then started to scream. Katsuki's eye twitched.

"Oh my gosh! I was looking for you guys!" Yet another, high-pitched voice screeched, and bobbing pink hair joined.

"We're going to work out with Mirio!" Mina screeched.

"Mirio!? One of the Big Three?!"

"Yes!"

"Oh my gosh!"

Katsuki glared at them, but all of them ignored him.

"Do you guys want to go to the mall tomorrow? I'm getting a group together!"

"Sorry, I have homework to do. I want to read ahead on some chapters for my classes to get into a good habit." Blue Hair Girl said.

"I'll go with you, Hana." Mina said, and bounced in her seat.

10.

Day 9, Monday, 8:50 AM

As Monday rolled around, Yurei found herself feeling weirdly confident.

Whoever tried to embarrass her with the DVDs failed, and Mina seemed to like her. Her personality was so bubbly that it was hard to tell, but at the very last, she was interested in experimenting.

Yurei left Bakugou's sushi on his desk with a note, labeled with his name.

She quietly sipped her coffee, smiling, and thought about her plans for the day.

11.

Day 9, Monday, 11:00 PM

That night, Yurei yawned into her hand, sending small wisps of white mist into the air.

She huddled more into her jacket, hating the cold, and would need to remember to ask her mom for a hat. The days were getting colder, and she had to walk alone at night a lot, going from the gym to her dorms. As she got to her dorm, however, she saw someone huddled outside, shivering and crying.

"... mom?" Yurei asked, and was shocked when her mother turned to face her. Her mother's plump face was wet from tears, her lips trembling in a frown, and hands wrung together in the cold. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Your father told me what happened. I'm so sorry, Yurei, I'm so sorry." Her mother apologized, her voice cracking.

"Let's get inside, mom, it's freezing out here." Yurei suggested.

"No, I don't want to embarrass you… not any more than I have, at least." Her mom said.

"What are you talking about?" Yurei asked.

"The movies. Your father told me that someone gave them out to your classmates. I'm so sorry, Yurei, I'm so sorry. I told your father that I shouldn't have kids because of that. I knew you would have a hard life because of my mistakes." Her mother said, and Yurei's heart tore at those words.

"Mom, it's okay, really. It's no big deal. People have no idea it was you. Their plan to embarass me failed." Yurei said, but then added, "and even if they did know, I wouldn't care. You're my mom, and I'm proud of you."

"After what you've been through… I can't help but wonder… am I the reason that Ikari hurt you?" Her mom asked, and more tears fell from her eyes. "He… men sometimes think that… they can get twisted. Because of me, he,"

"That wasn't because of you, mom. That definitely wasn't because of you." Yurei said as she stepped forward, and pulled her mom into a hug.

"My baby girl got raped because of me." Her mother cried.

"That wasn't because of you, mom. I love you, and I'm proud of you. There's no way that was your fault." Yurei assured her, and pet her mother's head, over the hat.

She trembled against her. Yurei's neck became wet with her mother's tears.

"You got hurt because of me." Her mother cried.

"That wasn't your fault, mom." Yurei said, and noticed a small group of people trying to get inside. She started to shift them to the side. "Let's not block the door, mom."

"What's wrong?" Eijirou asked in a soft voice.

"We just need some space." Yurei said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Eijirou asked.

Yurei shook her head.

"Let me know if I can help." Eijirou said in a low voice, Yurei nodded. He and the others gave them concerned looks, and headed inside. Her mom was quiet for a little while, quivering against her, and Yurei held her close.

"It'll be okay, mom." Yurei said softly after a while. She shivered as a slight breeze washed over them.

"I'm so sorry, Yurei, I'm so sorry." Her mom repeated.

"I'm not. Because of you, I'll be able to relate to victims that I save someday." Yurei said, and her mother paused, looking up at her in confusion. "When I'm saving kids from human trafficking, some of them will have been sexually abused. Some of them forced to do porn. They're going to be terrified of what their family members think of them, and you know what? I'll be able to tell them, with complete honesty, that their families will still love them. I'll be able to show them a picture of you and say, 'this is my mom, and she used to be the greatest pornstar ever, and I love her, because she's my mom. When you go home, your mom will still love you, just like I love my mom.'"

Her mom started crying again, but this time, not from guilt.

"How did I end up with such a wonderful daughter?" Her mother asked, and put her hands on either side of Yurei's face. "I could never love anyone as much as I love you, baby girl."

"I love you too, mom." Yurei said.

"Hey, do you guys want some hot chocolate? It's pretty cold out here." Eijirou asked as he poked his head out the door, pushing it open with his back. He was carrying three mugs of hot chocolate.

Then, his eyes locked with Yurei's mother, and his eyes widened in shock.

He blinked a few times.

Then, he muttered, "oh." There was an awkward pause, and Yurei's mother looked down in shame.

"It's colder out here than I thought. You lovely ladies must be freezing." Eijirou suddenly said, and came outside. He gave them his usual friendly grin, even though he was a little awkward, and held out the mugs to them.

"Thank you, Eijirou. This is kind of you." Yurei said, and took two of the mugs. She gave one of them to her mother, who was trying to wipe away the tears. "Eijirou, this is my mom. Mom, Eijirou."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Kasai. I have a couple of classes with Yurei. She's a kind and wonderful person, and I'm betting she gets that from you." Eijirou said, and Yurei could sense her mother swell in happiness.

"Yep." Yurei said, and gave her a side hug.

Mina and Hana came out.

"Mom, this is Mina and Hana. They're my other friends at the dorm." Yurei introduced.

"This is your mom?! Oh my gosh! You're so pretty!" Mina exclaimed, and gave her a big hug.

Yurei was grateful that all of them were so chill and upbeat. Eijirou definitely recognized her, and he went out of his way to be kind and polite, but Yurei wasn't sure if Mina and Hana did.

"We were just going to head over to the school lounge for drinks, do you want to join us? They're doing free hot cocoa and poetry night." Mina invited.

"Do you want to listen to poetry, mom?" Yurei asked.

"No, I should get home. Your father is probably worried about me. I'm so happy to see that you're doing so well here, Yurei. You have such great friends." Her mother said, and pulled her in for one last, tight hug.

Yurei took her half empty cup.

"It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Kasai." Eijirou said, and the girls repeated him. Mina pulled her in for another hug before she left.

As her mom left, Yurei let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Do you two want to go with us?" Mina asked them.

"Not tonight. I just got off from work, and I'm exhausted." Yurei said.

"Eijirou?" Mina asked, and her feelings fluctuated, hanging on his answer.

… oh.

"Maybe next time. You two have fun, though." Eijirou said. Both girls giggled and skipped off, talking excitedly about something.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much that meant to me." Yurei told Eijirou.

"Why did someone hand out DVDs of your mom like that?" Eijirou asked.

"I don't know. I think it's someone from an old school, since no one else would know about my mom. People get pretty weird and paranoid about my quirk." Yurei told him.

"Why?" Eijirou asked.

Yurei looked around, checking that they were alone.

"I have a second quirk. I can sense other people's emotions, and for brief periods of time, I can manipulate them, too. Because of that, some people think that I'm constantly using my quirk without their consent. Some people get weird and paranoid about it." Yurei said, and his cheeks heated up.

"You can sense emotions? Like an empath? Can you sense my emotions?" He asked.

"Yep. I can sense anyone within a few feet. Sometimes if someone's emotional state is more extreme, like if they were having a panic attack, then their feelings would be a bit louder and block out the other people, and I can sense them from further away." Yurei explained.

"So… whenever we hang out… you know what I'm feeling?" Eijirou asked.

"Yep. Do you see why this has made people paranoid in the past, and why I haven't told anyone here?" Yurei asked.

He paused, thinking hard, and then nodded.

"When I was little, I would use my quirk more often. Most people can figure out when I use it, but there were a few people that later on became really upset by it. I'm guessing that whoever is going after me, is one of those people." Yurei said.

"Have you used your quirk on me?" Eijirou asked.

"No. I haven't used it on anyone at this school." Yurei said honestly. "Well, I used it briefly on Ikari, but… that's an entire other story."

"... whoever put those DVDs out is still in the wrong. Do you have any idea who did it?" Eijirou asked.

"I haven't recognized anyone on campus from my old schools. They might not even be at this dorm, or in my year." Yurei said.

"Do you think they could be the one that sent that video to Mineta? Of you and Mina kissing?" Eijirou asked.

"I thought Mineta was behind that?" Yurei asked.

"He claims it wasn't him. I thought he was lying, but… if someone is going after you…." Eijirou said.

"Well, keep an ear out, and hopefully we'll either catch them or they'll get bored and give up." Yurei said.

"Yeah…." Eijirou said, and turned, looking up at the sky.

"Thank you again, Eijirou. For the way you treated my mom. That was amazing of you." Yurei said.

"I'll start having everyone destroy the DVDs. Your mom doesn't deserve that." Eijirou said.

"Thank you. I'm exhausted from work, so I'm heading in. See you tomorrow morning." Yurei said.

"Good night, sleep well." Eijirou said with a grin.

12.

Day 10, Tuesday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, as Yurei finished her coffee, she felt a bit restless.

Her mom thought that she was the reason that Ikari raped her. That had shaken her up a little more than she thought it would, and she had nightmares for most of the night about that monster.

As Yurei was stretching with Tsu and Ochaco, getting ready for their usual morning jog to start the class, she overheard another small group of girls chatting. "It's definitely her. Yurei's mom is the pornstar on the DVDs. Yurei is probably the one that handed them out, and she's probably trying to recruit us. That's why she kissed Mina." Hana spoke in a loud whisper.

Mina's eyes glanced Yurei's way, and then went to her lap.

Momo's cheeks went red.

Toru gasped.

"No way!" Momo said.

Hana pulled out her phone, showing them pictures, and they all gasped.

Yurei moved to stand, and walked over to the group. They jumped when they saw her getting closer.

"If you're going to make accusations against me, say it to my face, Hana." Yurei told her, and put her hands on her hips. Hana looked up at her, her purple eyes sending a wave of deja vu over her, but she pushed the feeling to the side.

"Is your mom the pornstar?" Mina asked.

"Yeah. Some dick wanted to embarrass me by handing out her videos. Last night, my mom heard about it, so she showed up crying her eyes out in embarrassment. She was absolutely mortified." Yurei snapped.

"If your mom was a whore, then she deserves that." Hana said.

"You want to fight, Hana?" Yurei asked, and clenched her fists, trying to take deep breaths.

She couldn't afford to lose control like Bakugou.

She wanted to kick her ass, not go to prison for murder.

"Oh! So you heard that we're doing fights today!" All Might announced suddenly, switching to his bigger form briefly. "Everyone jog over to the sparring courts!"

"Sparring?" Yurei, and multiple others, asked in unison.

"Yes! I will randomly pair people up for a fight, and then we'll watch and critique each other!" All Might exclaimed, and pointed towards the sparring courts. "Jog, my youthful students, while I think of the first pairing!"

"Will we be allowed to use our quirks?" Yurei asked.

"Of course!" All Might replied.

Don't kill her.

Don't kill anyone.

Yurei let out a sigh, and then started running with the others. When they got there, they all gathered around the white rectangle in the middle of the large court. It was a little bigger than a basketball court, and there was a rainbow of different sized rectangles.

Some of the guys were getting pumped up, hopping around on their feet to get themselves warmed up, and talking about kicking each other's asses.

Yurei glared Hana's way as she got closer. She returned the glare.

There was an animosity that she didn't expect, absolute rage and hatred emanating from Hana, and Yurei wondered if she somehow touched a nerve. You're the asshole here, not me.

"We'll do the fight in the light blue rectangle today, and we'll have Kasai and Todoroki go against each other first! They should be an interesting fight!" All Might announced.

"All Might, do you just spend your time in class watching us and imagining how we'd fight each other?" Hanta asked, and All Might tensed guiltily.

"Of course! I'm teaching you all how to fight, so I have to imagine and observe your fighting abilities!" All Might announced.

"Todoroki, do you have any heart conditions?" Yurei asked, turning to the white and red haired boy.

"No." He replied. "Do you?"

"Nope." Yurei said, and walked into the rectangle as the other students stepped back, to stand outside the light blue line. Todoroki stood across from her on the field, emotionless and quiet. He was probably analyzing her. Thinking of ways to win.

This wasn't a terrible pairing, considering the other options.

"Start when you're ready!" All Might announced.

Todoroki sent ice her way.

She sunk her feet into the ground, and zoomed across the field. He tried to dodge her, throwing ice at her, and jumping back, trying to not let her get close.

Not bad. She thought as she went through the ice, trying to get to him, and finding that he was purposely swerving around and being as unpredictable as possible.

But, he slipped up, and there was space.

She zoomed closer to him.

Reached out.

Todoroki was done. He was knocked out, and she reached out to him, catching him midfall.

"Wooooah!" Multiple students yelled from the sidelines. She gently lay him down on the ground.

"Your quirk is so powerful!" Deku yelled.

She chuckled, and Todoroki started to open his eyes.

"Sorry Todoroki, you weren't fast enough. Good job, though. You did great." Yurei said, and helped him stand. He held his head, probably woozy, and she held his shoulder, making sure that he wouldn't fall. He made the ice disappear, and they both walked back over to the group. They had a lot of questions for Yurei, and she answered a few, but not all of them.

Yurei sat down again, and wished that she had coffee.

"The next pair will be Midoria and Momo!" All Might announced.

Going against Todoroki was a good distraction for her anger, but she was still angry at Hana.

She also wished that she had more coffee. It was freezing cold outside.

"All Might, is it okay if I go grab some coffee? I'll be quick." Yurei requested.

"If you're fast." All Might nodded.

Yurei used her quirk to hurry across campus, get her coffee, and come back.

She only missed a couple of minutes of the fight, but the fight was still going. She sat near Bakugou, relishing in his angst, and quietly sipped her coffee as the other students 'ooh'd and 'aaw'd. He was so enraptured by their fight that he didn't seem to notice her; he was watching their every move, analyzing and storing the information for a future fight.

Momo's quirk was impressive. Too bad she was so slow.

So long as I don't mess around, I don't have anything to worry about from these people. Yurei thought as she took another sip, and tried to focus on the fight.

Deku ended up winning.

"An excellent fight! Next up is Bakugou and Iida!" All Might announced.

The speedster vs. lord explosion murder. Yurei thought in slight amusement as she watched them, impressed by the pairing. This would be interesting, so long as Iida didn't end up one-shotting him.

Both men stood on each side of the rectangle.

Bakugou's face contorted into his usual sadistic grin. His hands sparks.

Iida crouched down, preparing to run.

"Go!" All Might yelled, and Tenya broke into a sprint.

He ran at Bakugou head on, then dived at the last second, and came at him from the side.

Bakugou was ready, punching him in the solar plex, which caused the spectators to wince and cringe. Yurei was amazed by his quick reflexes.

I need to watch him. If we fight, I'll need to stay incorporeal the entire time. One slip up could mean a face full of fire.

Tenya gasped for breath on the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

"The fight goes to Bakugou!" All Might announced.

Tenya hit the ground with his clenched fist.

"Pathetic." Bakugou muttered, and walked off, shoving his hands back into his pockets. When he came back to the sidelines, to his previous spot, he stood a little closer to Yurei, which intrigued her.

"Yurei! I'm coooold!" Mina suddenly said, and clamored to Yurei's back, kneeling behind her and wrapping her arms around her. Yurei appreciated the warmth.

Suddenly, she sensed an uncomfortableness from all of the guys in the class. Some of them were just turned on.

Even Bakugou was effected.

She sighed, and tried to just focus on Mina's warmth and the fights.

12.

Day 10, Tuesday, 8:10 AM

After class, as she left the changing area, she was surprised to see Eijirou waiting outside for her. He was leaning against the wall, phone in his hand, and flashed her his usual smile.

"Hey, Yurei. Can I chat with you for a minute?" Eijirou asked.

"Sure, what's up?"

They started walking away from the building, and she could sense nervousness from him. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"I was, uh… I was wondering. Can you, uh, sense Mina's feelings?" He asked.

"She likes you." Yurei confirmed.

He stopped, his eyes going wide. Then he clenched his fist, pumped it into the air, and screamed "YES!"

Yurei chuckled at his exuberant reaction, and laughed as he picked her up in a hug, spinning her around.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** First off: thank you elyonb for the review! The same day you posted that review, I got a super long, super weird review on another fanfic, which made me super anxious and self conscious about my writing. I really, really appreciated your review that day.

In the same vein, thank you to the other people who fave/followed this story!

**Other stuff, to make sure all my ducks are in order and no one gets caught off guard or anything:**

Someone commented on another fanfic of mine that I didn't put a warning about there not being an ending at the beginning, so I realized that I should add one for this story, too. There's like... over 400,000+ words to this story, I think? But, at this point in time, it doesn't have an actual, concrete ending that wraps everything up. (since I update *roughly* every month, that means I have like, 2 years to get random motivation to finish it) I made the mistake of trying to "challenge" myself with a specific cliche that I hate writing, but unfortunately, it just killed my interest in the story. I still love the characters and I have super cool villains/storylines set up, but doing that theme was a major mood killer for me. I really, really hope that I someday get the motivation to go back and write an ending, but at this point in time, it doesn't have one. Sorries.

**Other disclaimer:** if it's not obvious by all the changes (all characters aged up, different type of school, etc.) the characters will be a bit ooc. For my style of writing, it was actually suuuper difficult to write these characters, and took a loooot of tweaking in order to find a way to write them in a way that didn't feel forced. (Izuku's character, for example, is a lot more chill in my later bnha fanfics, but it took a while to figure out the right angle for him)

So, if I portray a character from bnha as weird, or maybe sliding into the "villain" category, it's probably not because I dislike the character or anything, I'm probably just struggling to find the ideal way to write them or I don't want to make a bunch of new oc's for a scene I want to write, so I randomly choose a name from the class list for what I want to write.

Also also: I've been finding that, when people write reviews saying that my story is being overly dramatic... usually, that's because I've lost interest in the story as a writer, and I'm trying to find a new angle to get me reinvested and finish the story, so that it has a concrete ending. Most of the time if my plot is too simple, and I've already figured out all the details, it's no longer interesting to me and I give up on it. Doing the silly overdramatic storylines sometimes helps me stumble across a new, interesting angle in order to continue the story; sometimes, the story ends up fizzling out anyway, turning into a bit of a mess. The few actually really cool fanfics, in which I did solid story arcs, character development, etc. ended up having questionable character motivations from the original writers (as in, the canon creators), so I had to take them off of this site or just not public them.

Anywho! I hope you enjoy the story! Thanks for reading!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_A Villain's Tale_

Day 12, Thursday, 6:10 AM

On Thursday morning, they did fights again.

Yurei quietly sipped her coffee as she waited for her turn. The sky was filled with dark clouds, threatening to rain on them, and thunder rolled in the distance. They had to use the school lights in order to see, since the clouds blocked the morning sun.

Yawns echoed all around her, hands fluttering to opening mouths as the students tried to stay awake.

Mina and Eijirou were constantly in contact with each other. Constantly aroused.

Yurei stayed near Bakugou, relishing in his powerful angst.

_Teenagers._ Yurei thought with a frown.

"The next match up will be… Iida and… Uraraka!" All Might announced.

Yurei sighed tiredly, and wondered who she would get picked to fight. Tenya and Ochaco's fight didn't last long; Ochaco was clearly not awake, and Tenya restrained her with ease.

"Now, let's do… Kasai against Kojo. You two were so passionate on Tuesday." All Might announced.

Yurei's eye twitched.

She had calmed down, but she was still upset.

"Tsu, can you hold my coffee?" Yurri requested.

"Sure." Tsu nodded, and then smiled at the warmth.

Yurei stood and walked over to the right side of the large rectangle, putting her hands in her jacket pockets. A gust of wind chilled her, and she hopped around a little to get warm again.

Hana walked to the other side of the sparring area. Her hair was the usual pink and curly, purple eyes bright and focused on Yurei, and her make up was spotless. She'd obviously spent a lot of time getting dressed that morning.

"Have you ever lost a fight before, Yu Yu?" Hana asked, and Yurei tensed.

"Excuse me?" Yurei asked.

"A fight. Have you ever lost one before?" Hana asked.

"Not an official one." Yurei answered.

"Do you even remember me, Yu Yu?" Hana asked.

Yurei gave a tired half glare.

Hana smiled, pulling back her pink glossed lips in a lecherous grin. "Of course you wouldn't. Everyone, aside from Ikari, is beneath you. You manipulate and control everyone around you. It's despicable."

"Stop talking and fight already!" Bakugou shouted.

"Oh, don't worry, the fighting will come, and I will win. But before I do, before I beat your stupid, ugly, gross, face in, I'm going to tell you how.

"You see, when we were eight years old, I fell in love with Ikari. I confessed my love to him, but he said that he only had room in his heart for one person: you. That's when I knew you were controlling him.

"I had my souls follow you two. Watching you. You were manipulating him everyday for years. Controlling him. The only way I could stop you was by having my souls get close to you, to induce one of your panic attacks."

Yurei tensed.

When she was little, she thought that those were ghosts.

Her mother used to say that they were trying to give her a hug, to make Yurei less afraid of them.

"So then I practiced my quirk, every single day, hoping to defeat you one day, so that I could rescue Ikari from you, and now I can. I knew you would end up here, at the best school in the country because of your quirk, so I studied night and day to get in." Hana said, and then, sent multiple "ghosts" at Yurei.

Bakugou's angst still overpowered them.

The sensation of having so many feeling things inside her was uncomfortable, but Yurei made a point to not react. She kept a look of indifference, ignoring the awkwardness, and stayed perfectly still.

Hana's eye widened in alarm.

"So let me get this straight." Yurei spoke slowly. "You saw a girl who can give people heart attacks with a single touch, so you decided to devote your life to beating her in a fight? Am I understanding that correctly?"

Hana took a step back, "Wh-what is going on? Why isn't it working!?"

"If you stalked Ikari and I, then you know we weren't romantically involved. Ikari went on tons of dates with other girls. He rejected you because you were a creepy stalker, not because he liked me. I'll bet that you're the same creep that bought and distributed those porn DVDs to embarrass me." Yurei surmised.

"NO! No, I didn't!" Hana replied immediately.

"And you wasted so much time going after me, but if you love Ikari so much, why aren't you at the hospital with him?" Yurei asked.

"What? He's at the hospital? Is he okay?!"

"He's probably out by now. Bakugou really did a number on him last week." Yurei said, and nodded in his direction.

While Hana looked away, Yurei zoomed across the platform, and punched her in the face.

Hana fell, her nose gushing blood, and she started to cry.

Yurei didn't even need to use her other quirk.

She clenched and unclenched her fist. Her knuckles hurt from the impact, and she put her hand back into her pocket.

"Asshole." Yurei muttered as she walked away.

Momo and Toru went to Hana on the ground, and Yurei got her coffee back.

1.

Day 12, Thursday, 7:45 AM

In the locker room after class, Mina pulled Yurei in for a hug.

"You are a wonderful and sweet person. If you need anything, let me know." Mina said, and Yurei held her back.

"Thank you, Mina."

"Oh! I know!" Mina suddenly exclaimed and pulled back, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "We should go clubbing tonight!"

"Clubbing?" Yurei laughed.

"Yeah! Ochaco, Tsu, Momo, Toru- do you guys want to go!?" Mina asked excitedly, and they started making plans.

2.

Day 12, Thursday, 5:00 PM

After everyone's classes that day, they went to the mall to shop for clothes. They would do clubbing the following night, so that people could drink and sleep in.

Momo had decided that she would pay for transportation; and, because of that, she had a big say in who went. Hana would be going.

There was an awkward split in the group they tried to ignore, which was half the group sided with Yurei, and the other half sided with Hana.

"Oh! Oh!" Mina said as a sparkling dress caught her eye. Quickly, she looked for one her size, and pulled it out.

It was shades of purple and red, which flattered her unique skin tone.

"It's a little revealing, but pretty." Yurei said.

"We're going clubbing! I can dress a little slutty for it. Besides, Eijirou is the one I'm going back with." Mina grinned.

"Eijirou will definitely love that." Yurei said, and Mina's grin widened.

"All of these are so expensive." Ochaco said awkwardly.

Mina then looked down at the price tag on her dress, and let out a small shriek.

"Momo! This place is crazy expensive! You said things were decently priced here!" Mina told Momo, who had been chatting quietly with Hana.

"It is." Momo replied.

"$600 is not decently priced! I could make this same dress with $6 of fabric!" Mina said in a hushed voice, and put the dress back.

"There's a thrift shop down the street. Let's check that out." Yurei said with a nod of her head.

3.

Day 13, Friday, 8:50 AM

The next morning, Yurei smiled from her spot, quietly drinking coffee and mentally preparing her day.

After this, she and the girls would start getting ready for that night. Momo was rich and was paying for pretty much everything.

"Duuuuuude, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Any guy at this school would kill for this! Hell, any guy in the country would kill for this!" Eijirou spoke to Bakugou in a hushed voice as they went to their seats.

"Will there be booze?" Bakugou asked.

"Yes, and girls in skimpy clothing looking to have a good time. Look at these pictures they posted yesterday, dude." Eijirou spoke as he pulled out his phone, and showed Bakugou pictures of what the other girls would be wearing. Yurei was the only one not in the photos; she'd been the photographer. "How can you not want to go?"

"I'll think about it." Bakugou replied.

"You'll 'think about it'?! I overheard girls in our upper class thinking about going just so that they can have a chance at making out with you. You could almost guaranteed get laid tonight if you wanted." Eijirou told him.

"I don't care about sex. It doesn't help me train." Bakugou said, and Eijirou's eyes widened.

"Are you gay?"

"Of course I'm not gay!" Bakugou shouted at him.

"No straight man would turn away cute girls trying to have sex with them." Eijirou told him.

"Sex is a distraction. If it distracts me from my hero studies, I don't want it." Bakugou stated.

"But it's sex, Bakugou! Most men become heroes so that they can get laid!" Eijirou said exasperatedly.

"That's a dumb reason." Katsuki retorted.

Yurei chuckled, accidentally alerting them that she'd been eavesdropping.

"Is Bakugou crazy, or am I crazy?" Eijirou asked her.

"If Bakugou doesn't want to have sex, that's his decision. I don't think anyone should push another person into something they're uncomfortable with." Yurei said.

"Oi, I'm not 'uncomfortable' with it, I just don't want to." Bakugou corrected with a glare.

"She's the one defending your insanity, bro, don't snap at her." Eijirou told him.

"I'LL SNAP AT WHOEVER THE FUCK I WANT!" Bakugou shouted.

"Bakugou, shut up or leave." Aizawa suddenly snapped, getting their attention.

Bakugou grumbled as he shifted in his chair, facing the front again.

3.

Day 13, Friday, 9:00 PM

That night, they gathered by UA gates, dressed and ready to go.

Yurei had settled on short shorts with bright blue tights, and a tight purple and blue decorative top that showed some cleavage. She had lots of make up and jewelry on, and even some extra electric blue hair extensions.

Mina wore a short purple dress made of silk, which clung to her curves and left little to the imagination.

Their outfits overall varied quite a bit. Ochaco and Tsu were the most timid, wearing jeans and pretty tops, with minimal makeup. Momo wore a short, revealing dress like Mina, and the rest were inbetween.

The guys, by contrast, wore mostly jeans and t-shirts. Yurei told Eijirou to remind all the guys to be clean and wear deodorant, and even bring extra if they were able.

Yurei, as usual with groups like this, had extra condoms with her. Her mom always made sure she had at least an extra two dozen in her room at all times.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so excited!" Mina exclaimed, and then nearly fell over in her 4 inch heels.

Yurei caught her, similarly unsteady in her own.

They had sixteen people in their group. Eight girls, eight guys.

Including Bakugou.

"Have you ever been clubbing, Deku?" Ochaco asked him.

"No!" Deku replied with a red face.

"Yurei, Yurei," Mina whispered in her ear. "Would it be okay if I kissed you a few times tonight?"

"You can kiss me anytime, Mina." Yurei replied, and Mina grinned.

Yurei smiled in turn, trying to lift up her spirits again.

_Maybe I'll find a cute girl at the party._ Yurei thought, and then pecked Mina's cheek.

Excited chatter came from the people around them, and they looked up to see the limo arriving.

"AAAAH Momo, you're amazing!" Mina screamed.

As piled into the limo, excited "woop!"s filled the air, and boisterous laughs surrounded them.

Mina sat between Yurei and Eijirou, and somehow, Bakugou ended up between Yurei and Hana.

Yurei and Hana exchanged a glare.

"Let's get drunk!" Eijirou exclaimed, and started pouring shots.

As the shots were passed around, Yurei noticed that Tenya, Deku, Ochaco, and Tsu had formed their own little awkward group, which was good. They probably wouldn't drink too much.

"Bakugou." Yurei spoke as the shots kept getting passed. "I know that you want to keep things PG tonight. If you get a little too drunk, do you want me pull you to the side to get some air?"

"Fuck off." Bakugou replied, and she rolled her eyes.

"Drink!" Eijirou suddenly yelled, and she took her first shot.

Blue raspberry flavored vodka. Not terrible, not great.

"Woot!" The boys cheered.

4.

Day 14, Saturday, 1:00 AM

Hours went by in a blur of shots, dancing, and Mina's kisses.

They monopolized a cushioned seating area. There were dance videos on the screens, club music blasting, and mirrors to make the space seem bigger than it was. The air was warm, alcohol on everyone's breath, bodies writhing to the music.

A lot of students from their school were there.

Yurei laughed as she danced with Mina, and was yet again, brought into a smoldering kiss.

Then, Mina was pulled away by Eijirou, who hungrily kissed Mina.

Yurei looked around at their group.

Their awkward four were doing dorky dances together. Todoroki and Bakugou were surrounded by cute girls vying for their attention, and they didn't seem to care. They both looked bored as they lounged by their classmate's sitting area.

For the time being, everyone was busy in their own groups.

Yurei tensed slightly, briefly overwhelmed by the powerful feelings around her.

There wasn't anyone close enough to focus on.

She made her way over to Bakugou and Todoroki's group, and flashed them a smile.

"Are you guys having fun?!" Yurei asked over the sound.

They both shrugged indifferently.

"I keep telling these twats to fuck off, but they won't." Bakugou said, and took another sip of his beer.

"No one invited you over here." One of the girls, who seemed a little older, snapped at Yurei.

"These boys obviously aren't giving you enough attention. Why not try someone a little more attentive?" Yurei asked in what she hoped was a sultry voice.

"Faggot!" She yelled.

Yurei glared.

"At least I'm not rude." Yurei replied, and watched as the girl tried to shove her away, only to have her go through her, and clumsily fall to the ground.

"Kaylee!" The other two girls yelled, and crouched down to try and help her up.

Yurei shrugged, and looked around, searching for something to do.

Mina was pretty preoccupied with Eijirou.

She decided to go over to the dorky dance party.

As she made her way over to them, they cheered about their new addition, and went back to dorky dancing. They were silly, doing disco moves and hip wiggles. While they danced, Yurei looked around, and was surprised to soon find Todoroki and Bakugou in a lip locking contest with two of the girls from before. The girls were on top, straddling their waists.

"Fuck." Yurei cursed as she stopped.

The longer she looked, the more it looked like they'd been drugged.

"What's wrong?" Deku asked.

"I'm going to check on Bakugou and Todoroki." Yurei said, and slipped away from the group.

Bakugou especially didn't seem very responsive.

When Yurei got close enough, she grabbed the woman's shoulder and pulled back, causing her to look up at Yurei in alarm.

Bakugou didn't feel or look right. His eyes were half-lidded, hid cheeks red, and he didn't seem to know what was going on around him.

"Who the fuck are you!? Mind your own business!" The girl shrieked, hand turning to claws, and she slashed at Yurei's arm.

Yurei grabbed her back the back of her head, using her quirk to make her afraid, and got her off of him.

The other two girls got up, ready to fight, and Yurei quickly used her quirk to make them scared of her.

They ran, tripping over their heels along the way.

Yurei knelt between Bakugou and Todoroki. She checked their eyes, using a flashlight app on her phone, and found their their pupils didn't react.

Todoroki was slightly more responsive, sluggishly reaching around him and trying to stand, but was unable to. Bakugou kept looking around with his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, mumbling about how he was "the best."

"What's going on?" Tenya asked as the dorky group came over.

"Someone drugged Todoroki and Bakugou. We need to get them to Recovery Girl. Bakugou seems to be having a bad reaction." Yurei said, and then recognized that expression on his face.

Quickly, she ran over to the small trash bin not far away, and brought it to Bakugou just before he hurled.

5.

Day 14, Saturday, 1:30 AM

As they waited outside for the taxi to get there, Deku paused to watch Yurei, and admire her.

If she hadn't been there, Bakugou and Todoroki would have been assaulted, and no one would have been the wiser. Deku had never considered that guys drinks could be drugged; he just assumed that was a girl thing.

But Yurei was handling the situation like a pro, while the rest of them floundered, waiting for her instruction.

Deku was especially glad that she was taking care of Ka-chan. He didn't know of anyone else that would do this for him. If not for Yurei, Deku would have been the one in her position.

"I'm the fuckin' best." Ka-chan slurred, hanging off of Yurei's arm, and then hurled into the small bin she was holding for him.

"I know, buddy." Yurei soothed.

He'd already burned Yurei a few times now. Her skin was red in a few spots.

Ka-chan groaned loudly.

"I can beat all of you." He slurred again, as saliva and pieces of vomit trailed from his mouth to the bin.

Ka-chan wasn't looking good. He was extremely pale, his skin clammy, and movements sluggish. He definitely couldn't walk on his own, and Yurei nearly fell over multiple times in attempt to keep him up. She'd had to take her shoes off and hang them from her purse.

"Drink some water." Yurei said as she set the bin down and handed him an open water bottle.

"Fuck off." Ka-chan grumbled.

"Deku is going to win unless you drink." Yurei said.

"FUCKIN' NERD! DEKU CAN'T BEAT ME!" Ka-chan announced at the top of his lungs, and stumbled.

"Then drink the water! He's winning!" Yurei told him hurriedly, and Ka-chan took the waterbottle, chugging all of it in one go. "You won, Bakugou, you're the best."

"Of course I fuckin' am. I want a taco." Ka-chan said randomly.

"We'll go get you tacos." Yurei assured him.

"I'm the fucking best." Ka-chan slurred, and almost fell over. "Weird hair! Fuck you!" He suddenly yelled, pointing at Todoroki.

"Fuck you!" Todoroki yelled back, and Tenya kept him from falling over.

"I'm the best!" Ka-chan yelled at him.

"Fuck you!" Todoroki shouted back.

"Bakugou, Todoroki, Deku is winning! Drink, drink!" Yurei yelled. As she gave Ka-chan another waterbottle, Deku quickly got one to Todoroki, who similarly started to chug.

6.

Day 14, Saturday, 10:00 AM

Katsuki awoke to the sound of beeping.

His limbs felt heavy, as if he'd been pumped full of lead, and his head felt like sludge.

He groaned, blinking his eyes open, and flinched at the bright light.

"So you're awake." A feminine voice spoke, and he shifted, groaning at the pain of turning his head. He opened his eyes more, seeing only blurred objects. "How are you feeling, Bakugou?"

"Like shit." He grumbled, and his throat hurt from the sound.

"Watch your language, young man." They snapped.

He kept blinking, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

"Where-" He started to say, but then coughed. His entire body ached, his rib cage especially, and he tried not to move.

"You're at the infirmary. If it wasn't for your friend, you could have died. Someone drugged your drink and you had an allergic reaction. It's thanks to her quick thinking that you're not in the hospital or dead. She stayed up all night using her quirk to keep you alive." Recovery Girl said.

If he went to the hospital, they would have alerted his parents, and he'd be in Hell from his mother. Not to mention the legal crap of being an intoxicated minor.

One of the perks of going to UA was that people could go to the infirmary without repercussions. They had a policy of not pressing charges against drug use or anything if they went to the infirmary, in order to encourage people getting help when they're in trouble. Getting caught with drugs outside the infirmary, however, was a different story.

"If Kasai hadn't been here, I would have been forced to send you to the hospital. Your condition was really serious." Recovery Girl added.

… _Kasai? Who the fuck is that?_ Katsuki wondered.

"Is he awake?" Someone asked, and he slowly turned his head, surprised to see Blue Hair Girl. "Morning, champ. You seemed to have survived, so good job."

He wanted to speak, but just gulping felt like there were needles in his throat.

"I think he'll be fine, now. You can go home, Yurei." Recovery Girl said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You should get sleep."

"Alright." Blue Hair Girl said, and then lightly hit Katsuki's arm, which sent a surge of pain through him. He groaned, wishing that he could hit her back. "We're even, now. Get better."

_Even? What the hell does that mean?_ Katsuki wondered as he watched her leave.

Parts of her outfit were torn, and there were bruises and burns on her exposed skin.

"She deserves better. You better thank her and leave her alone." Recovery Girl told him.

He sent her a glare, but said nothing, trying to remember the previous night. Most of it was a blur.

7.

Day 14, Saturday, 10:10 AM

Yurei was sore and tired as she walked across campus.

She did her best to ignore the stares and whispers.

"Yu Yu!?" Mirio yelled, and ran to her. His friends followed suit, and she grunted, having hoped to avoid any extra attention. "What happened!?"

"Rough night. A couple assholes drugged some classmates when we were clubbing last night. I spent the night in the infirmary with them, helping Recovery Girl." Yurei asked, and Mirio took off his big jacket, moving to put it around her shoulders.

"Were you drugged? Who was drugged?" Mirio's blue-haired friend asked.

"I wasn't drugged, and I'd rather not say who. We got them out of there before anything bad happened, which is what matters." Yurei said.

"Are they okay?" Mirio asked.

"One of them had an allergic reaction, and almost had to go to the hospital. The other one slept it off. Everyone's okay, but I'm exhausted." Yurei explained, and added a slight pout. The jacket rubbed against her new burn marks.

"I'll walk you back to your dorm." Mirio offered.

8.

Day 14, Saturday, 10:00 PM

By that night, Katsuki was back at the dorms, but he still felt like garbage.

He also had to do laundry.

As he waited for his laundry, the guys of his dorm surrounded him, and kept teasing him about what happened.

"I wish a girl would drug me." Mineta cried.

"A few more minutes and you could have gotten lucky. I didn't know that Yurei was such a cock block." Denki added.

"Ka-chan almost died, you guys. If Yurei hadn't intervened, he could have died." Deku spoke up.

"Dying by sex would have been the most manly way to die." Denki said, and Mineta high-fived him.

"Dying means that he can't have sex ever again, though. I'm grateful that Yurei had been there. I'd feel like shit if Katsuki died." Eijirou spoke up.

"Well, obviously, we're just joking. We don't actually wish that he had died from sex." Denki told him.

"I want to die from sex." Mineta said, and everyone gave him a disturbed look.

_I hate all of you. Fuck off._ Katsuki glared. His throat still hurt from last night.

"Those girls were hot, though. I can't believe they had to drug Katsuki and Shouto to make them interested. Maybe they're gay." Denki wondered, and that's when Katsuki kicked him roughly in the shin, causing him to fall over in pain.

"How are you feeling, Ka-chan?" Deku asked, and cringed from the glare he received.

9.

Day 14, Saturday, 10:00 PM

"Yureeeeeei!" Mina chimed from outside her door.

Yurei grunted, opening her eyes, and blinked tiredly up at her dark ceiling. Her head felt groggy and gross.

"Yuerreeeeei! You slept all day today and I need to talk to you!" Mina yelled.

Yurei silently rose, glowering tiredly, and glided over to her door. She peaked her head through the door, startling Mina. The lights were a little too bright for her eyes.

"You look terrible. Are you okay?" Mina asked.

"What time is it?" Yurei asked, and her stomach suddenly grumbled.

She was absolutely starving.

"It's ten at night. You slept all day." Mina told her.

"Food. I need food." Yurei said, and glided out of her room, down the stairs, and to the kitchen.

She ignored everyone as she went through the cupboards and fridge, searching for something filling.

She decided on stirfry.

_Stirfry. Food._

She was fast, not bothering to hide her quirk for other people's comfort. She moved through items, getting to what she needed, and ignored other people.

Her stomach kept grumbling.

"Food, food, food," She kept chanting, and people cried out in alarm when she went through them.

Once the food was safe to eat, she didn't even wait to put it on a plate. She ate straight from the pan, devouring the hot food.

"Have you eaten anything today?" Mina asked.

Yurei couldn't stop eating to answer her.

After devouring an entire pan of stirfry, she was still hungry. She turned, gliding through Mina who shrieked in alarm, and poked her head into the fridge again.

They need to do shopping.

She grunted, and went through the cabinets.

They had almost nothing left.

"What are you looking for?" Mina asked.

"Food. All we have left is garbage." Yurei said, and frowned as her stomach grumbled again.

"Let's just call take out." Mina suggested, then smiled. "We could ask Bakugou or Todoroki to buy it, since you saved them last night."

"No, I'll just buy it." Yurei grumbled, and called a pizza place.

She was starving.

10.

Day 14, Saturday, 10:20 PM

Bakugou had come to the kitchen when he heard screaming. The other boys were too busy laughing at Mineta to notice.

He was not prepared for what he would see.

Blue Hair Girl was like a ravenous animal with that giant mound of stirfry. He was pretty sure that she unhinged her jaw like a snake to get so much down her gullet.

They didn't seem to notice his presence.

As she dialed the pizza place, Katsuki took the phone from her. "I'll buy dinner. I'm hungry too, anyway."

"You don't owe me anything after last night. We're even." Yurei said.

"You gave me cookies and sushi for a week. I'll buy the damn pizza." Katsuki told her.

"I honestly don't care who buys the damn thing so long as it gets here soon. Two large veggie pizzas with bacon for me." Yurei said quickly.

He made the call.

"God, I'm starving." Yurei said, and her stomach grumbled again. She went over to a counter and slouched over it.

"You just ate an entire thing of stirfry. How are you still hungry?" Mina asked.

"Using my quirk uses up more calories. I used it all night with Bakugou." Yurei groaned as her stomach gurgled and whined. "Fucking, fuuuuuck."

He noticed the bruises on her arms.

Katsuki was difficult to be around when sober. He couldn't imagine him when drugged.

She suddenly moved back to the fridge, using her quirk to pull out someone's gallon of chocolate milk. It was about half full.

She twisted the top off, and started to chug.

Once she was done, she burped, and physically opened the fridge, illuminating the space.

There wasn't much left in there.

She went for a block of cheese, then to a cupboard for tortillas, and started to make quesadillas. Watching her consume things was mildly amazing, and mostly horrifying.

When it was close to time for the pizza to arrive, they moved to the entrance of the building.

Blue Hair Girl's stomach kept making sounds, and she whined, pressing herself against the door without an ounce of shame. Her stomach kept grumbling and whining loudly.

When she saw the red uniform of the delivery man, she phased through the doors, scaring the hell out of him, grabbed the pizzas, and glided back inside.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and went outside to pay him.

When he got back inside, he paused in mild horror as he watched Blue Hair Girl sit in the lounge and eat. She took each slice, rolled it up like a burrito, and practically inhaled it.

Mina sat nearby, a similar look of horror on her face.

"Why are you eating it like that?" Mina asked.

Once her mouth and throat were clear, she answered, "more efficient."

In less than ten minutes, she finished the two pizzas, and frowned.

Her stomach whined again.

"How are you still hungry!?" Mina shouted.

"You can eat the other one." Katsuki told her.

"But that one is yours." Blue Hair Girl said with a pout.

"Wait, how did you use your quirk so much last night? How does phasing through things help people that are drugged?" Mina asked, and Katsuki paused, wondering why he hadn't asked that before. Her quirk was phasing, not… healing?

"I have a second quirk. I'd rather not say the details. People get mean when they learn about it." Blue Hair Girl said with a pout, and stared longingly at the third pizza.

"Just eat the damn pizza." Katsuki snapped at her.

"But what will you eat?" Yurei asked as she turned to him, her eyes wide in concern and small dots of sauce around her lips.

"I'll figure something out. Just eat." Katsuki told her.

She hesitated, but nonetheless went for the third box.

"So your second quirk takes a lot out of you, huh?" Mina asked.

"I try not to use it anymore. I've also never used it like last night before. That combined with last night's drinking just added up." Blue Hair Girl said between bites.

She ate the entire third pizza without so much as a pause.

Katsuki was quiet as he watched her, contemplating the events of the previous day.

She didn't just save his life last night.

He had been stupid. He put himself in a vulnerable position, and shouldn't have gone last night.

"Are you still hungry?" Mina asked in disbelief.

Blue Hair Girl frowned, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

"My cousin might have food." She said, and pulled out her phone.

If he didn't have anything, Katsuki was tempted to take her over to whatever grocery store was open that night and have her get something. He didn't like people going out of their way for him, so he'd pay for it.

"Cousiiiiin. Do you have food?" Blue Hair Girl whined into her phone. "I overdid my quirk last night. I ate an entire pot of stirfry, three large pizzas, and five quesadillas…. Rice will work. The kitchen here is out of food and I'm out in the lounge…. Thank you, cousiiiiiin."

Once the call was done, she flopped back against the back of the couch, making a miserable face as her stomach gurgled again.

He had no idea how she fit so much food in her. Her stomach was flat as a board.

"Is your quirk like Sato's?" Mina asked.

"No. I'm just hungry. It's the same as if I did a ton of exercise and didn't eat for twenty four hours… which is basically what I did."

_So you're just hungry because you're an idiot._ Katsuki thought, and his eyes twitched. _But she wouldn't have slept all day and missed those meals if it wasn't for me._

After a few minutes, Katsuki jumped when Mirio silently moved into the building, carrying a large pot, and set it in front of Blue Hair Girl.

She grabbed the large spoon from him, took the top off, and started devouring the white rice.

"I haven't seen you do this since you were a kid, Yu Yu. Drinking last night must have messed up your schedule." Mirio commented with a smile, and even chuckled as he watched her eat.

"She slept all day today." Mina added.

"Then you schedule is really messed up." Mirio commented.

"Why did you have a random gallon of rice?" Katsuki asked.

"It was leftover from a big dinner my dorm had." Mirio answered, and his gaze lingered on Katsuki. He tensed under the strange person's stare.

"The fuck are you looking at?" Katsuki snapped.

"Sorry. I was staring off into space. How are your classmates recovering after last night?" Mirio asked.

"I'm fine, shit head." Katsuki snapped.

"Were you the one she stayed up with last night?" Mirio asked.

Katsuki's eyes widened in alarm.

Blue Hair Girl hadn't told him.

"There's no judgment from me. That does explain why she was covered in bruises and burns this morning." Mirio commented, and looked back to his cousin.

Blue Hair Girl suddenly burped loudly, getting their attention.

"He's the one that got me the pizzas before. Thank you, cousin." She said with a smile, and they all leaned forward to look inside, finding that she'd eaten the entire thing.

That had been at least a gallon of rice.

"Was that enough?" Mirio asked.

"It'll do." Blue Hair Girl said, but her stomach grumbled again.

Katsuki sighed and pulled his phone out to look at store hours.

"I'll be fine. Don't look at me like that." Blue Hair Girl said.

"Last time you didn't eat when you were like this, you almost slipped into a coma." Mirio said.

"I ate enough that I'll be fine." Blue Hair Girl whined.

Her stomach whined again.

"The grocery store down the street is open until midnight. We can just go there." Katsuki said.

"I'll run over there and get you something, alright? What do you want me to get? What did your doctor recommend when this happens?" Mirio asked.

"He said I should eat whatever I'm craving." Blue Hair Girl said with a pout.

Katsuki was a bit bewildered at how upset she suddenly looked. She looked on the verge of tears.

_Just what the hell is her other quirk?_

"What are you craving right now?" Mirio asked.

"... fish. A tuna fish sandwich. And chocolate. Chocolate sounds really good." Blue Hair Girl said, her eyes tearing up, and one of the tears cascaded down how cheek.

"I'll go get that, okay? Is there anything else?" Mirio asked, and she shook her head. "Alright, I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"I'm sorry. I should have eaten this morning. I'm an idiot."

"No, it's okay, I should have thought to remind you. You haven't been using your quirk as much as you used to, right? Your body is probably just having a bad reaction to using it so often so quickly after not using it for a while. Your friends are going to stay and keep you company while I go get you food, okay?" Mirio told her, and then looked to Mina.

"What's wrong with her?" Mina asked.

"Just keep her company while I'm gone, and make sure she doesn't fall asleep. If she falls asleep, call me. My number is in her phone." Mirio said, and after getting an unsure nod from Mina, ran out of the building.

He lost his pants along the way.

_How is he going to pay for anything without his wallet?_

Katsuki sighed and ran after him.

With Mirio's quirk, he'd be able to get there quicker, but Katsuki could help carry things back, at least.

11.

Day 14, Saturday, 11:00 PM

When they got back, Blue Hair Girl ate everything they brought.

Everything.

That was over five thousand yen (fifty dollars) worth of groceries.

More people had come to watch her eat, too.

Mirio called her mom.

"Hey, Hoshi, I'm sorry to call you so late. Yu Yu had a bad reaction to her quirk, like when she was little. She ate a ton of food and seems full, but I wanted to check in. She's been having a lot of moodswings." Mirio said.

Katsuki was sitting on the couch near her, still amazed at how much she consumed.

One minute she was sad, the next she was happy- at one point she hit him in the head.

"Is that going to hurt?" Mirio asked with a frown.

"Is she going to be okay?" Eijirou whispered next to Katsuki.

"Your mom wants to talk to you." Mirio said, and handed the phone to Blue Hair Girl.

She frowned, pressing the phone against her ear, and pouted.

"I'm sorry, mom. I ate food, though, so I should be fine…. Yeah… my head feels a bit wonky. People are staring."

Then, Mirio looked up and around him.

"Can you guys give us some space? I know that you're concerned, but we've got everything under control. We just need some space now." Mirio said, and started guiding everyone out.

"What's going on with her?" Eijirou asked.

"Don't worry about it. Everything is fine." Mirio said with a smile, and started ushering everyone out.

Katsuki was reluctant to leave.

Comforting people wasn't in his range of expertise, but if she was like this because of him, he wasn't going to just fucking abandon them.

"I understand, mom. We'll probably go back to my room." Blue Hair Girl spoke into the phone. "I'll call you afterwards. Love you, too. Bye."

She hung up, and put her phone in her pocket.

"We should just go to my room." Blue Hair Girl told Mirio.

"What are you going to do?" Katsuki asked.

"None of your business." She replied, and moved to stand.

Katsuki watched them carefully. She didn't seem entirely sober, swaying slightly as she moved.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help, Yurei?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, Mirio and I will be fine."

Despite the smile on Mirio's face, he seemed concerned. Two minutes ago she was sobbing about how chocolate was too delicious, and was apparently at risk of falling into a coma.

12.

Day 14, Saturday, 11:10 PM

Yurei sulked as she sat in front of Mirio, on her bed.

They were both sitting cross-legged, and she had a bottle of water next to her to sip from occasionally.

Mirio was nervous.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Mirio asked.

"Hopefully not long." Yurei answered, and then added, "I'm sorry about this."

"It's okay. I can handle this." Mirio said with a smile.

She still hated to do this to him.

According to her mom, this happened to her a few times when she was younger. When she went without using her quirk, and then used it a lot again, it would cause the imbalance. Nothing this extreme, but she theorized that if Yurei flexed her quirk a bit, that'll keep it from seizing up and doing this again.

It was bad enough using her quirk on Bakugou last night, she didn't want to use it again.

"So what exactly do we need to do?" Mirio asked.

"Make you go through a full range of emotions. I think it's like… like it's a build up in my system. I've got a lot of emotional energy stored up, and so my body created more after Bakugou, so now I have excess stuff." Yurei explained.

"So you need to use your quirk more regularly so that you don't get that extra build up." Mirio nodded. "Well… fire away."

Yurei grunted, sighed, and touched his hand.

Instead of having him experience one emotion, she cycled through multiple ones.

Happiness, melancholy, sad, depressed, anxious, angry, hurt, betrayed, loved, elevated, high, alert, calm.

After a few minutes, she released her quirk.

Mirio let out a sigh.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I could use that for training, actually." Mirio said.

"How so?" Yurei asked.

"If I go through that while training, then I'll be able to figure out how to do the exercises while scared. I'll be able to train myself to do anything, regardless of my emotions." Mirio explained, and smiled.

"I'm sorry, again." Yurei apologized.

"It's fine, cousin. Let's do something for a while, though. I don't want you going to sleep for a while." Mirio said.

13.

Day 15, Sunday, 1:00 PM

The next afternoon, after getting plenty of rest and fluids, she ventured downstairs.

Not surprisingly, when she got to the lounge, Mina jumped out of Eijirou's lap and bounded to her, pulling her in for a hug.

"I was so worried about you! Are you okay!?" Mina asked, and stepped back to look at her.

"Sorry for worrying you." Yurei apologized.

"That's not what I asked. Are you okay?" Mina asked again.

"I'm fine. Everything is fine." Yurei said.

"What happened to you last night?" Eijirou asked as he came up behind Mina, and passively put an arm around her.

"I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay. I was going to go out for food, though. Does anyone want to join me?" Yurei asked.

"Of course! Where do you want to go!?" Mina asked excitedly.

"How about the waffle place?" Yurei suggested.

"Who else wants to get waffles!?" Mina asked the room of lounging students.

"I'm down for waffles." Denki said as he stood, and a few others agreed, instantly getting up. They all gathered and ventured outside, starting their trek.

Yurei didn't talk much as she walked, wearing a simple hoodie and jeans. She kept her hands in her pockets, making sure to smile and nod with people, and felt awkward with so many people having seen her last night.

She didn't like people seeing her cry.

_Right, Bakugou got me food._ Yurei remembered as she noticed him at the back of the group.

As Mina and Eijirou kept chatting animatedly, Yurei fell to the back, to walk next to Bakugou. He was his usual grumpy self, but his depression, guilt, and anxiety seemed worse than usual.

"Hey, thanks for the food last night. I can pay you back for it." Yurei told him.

"Don't worry about it." Bakugou said with a shake of his head.

"That was a lot of food, though. That was, what? At least six thousand yen?" Yurei asked.

"I said, don't worry about it." Bakugou replied.

"... I initially gave you some sushi and cookies. Paying you back won't upset the scales or whatever, if you feel guilty or anything." Yurei said.

"Would you have gotten sick last night if you hadn't helped me?" Bakugou asked her.

"... no." Yurei replied. She still felt sore from that; drunk Bakugou could hit hard.

"Then don't worry about it." Bakugou replied.

"It's a lot of money, though, and I know that you're not as well off as Momo and Todoroki." Yurei said.

"I would be in a lot of shit if I'd gone to the hospital. Believe me, eight thousand yen is a small price to pay to not deal with my pissed off mother." Bakugou told her.

Yurei sighed.

He still felt guilty.

She didn't know how to make him feel better about it. She didn't know him well enough, and he was so unstable, she wasn't sure that she wanted to try making him feel better.

"Is it a healing quirk, or something?" Bakugou asked her in a low voice.

No one seemed to be paying attention to them. They were distracted by conversations about waffles.

"Not really, and I'd prefer if you didn't tell anyone about it." Yurei said, and gave him a pointed look.

He nodded, not saying anything, and they were quiet for the rest of the walk.

14.

Day 22, Sunday, 10:00 AM

A week went by. Classes went on as normal, training went smooth, and life continued at UA University.

On that Sunday, though, Katsuki had a killer hangover.

His head felt like it had been filled with sand. The lights were too bright. Sounds too loud.

He carried a half empty water bottle, and chugged the last of it as he walked. His drunk ass had been smart enough to leave a couple of water bottles on his nightstand for his sober self. There was even a sticky note with the words "hydrate, idiot!" on them.

As he went through the dining room, Eijirou started saying something loud as he passed by, and Katsuki hit him in the head, muttering "shut up."

"The winner awakens!" Mineta announced.

Katsuki paused and glared.

"Have a muffin, winner." Eijirou said, and gestured to the assortment of breakfast items at the large table.

Katsuki contemplated going to the kitchen anyway, since he didn't like how the group of people were looking at him, but he nonetheless took the empty seat next to him and started to eat one of the muffins.

Mineta, Denki, Eijirou, and the rest of the group, started smiling and stifling their laughter.

"What the hell are you assholes giggling about?" Katsuki snapped.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" Eijirou asked.

"Yeah. I remember kicking your ass in a drinking contest." Katsuki answered groggily, having the hangover to prove it.

"And after that?" Mineta asked with a smile and evil glint in his eye.

Katsuki tried to remember what else he did.

He did a lot of drinking.

This time, he watched his drinks, to make sure he wouldn't get drugged. He did mostly shots with people. He drank against Eijirou, Deku, some random guy from another class, some weirdo blond from the next dorm over….

"Do you remember Yurei?" Eijirou asked.

"Who the fuck is Yurei?" Katsuki growled.

"Blue Hair Girl." Denki said with a smile, and then handed his phone to him as a video was playing.

It was a video of last night.

"I'LL KICK YOUR ASS, SHIT HEAD!" Katsuki yelled, already drunk, and sat down at a table with Eijirou.

Shot after shot, Katsuki and Eijirou would punch their chests between each one, until finally, Eijirou passed out.

"I'M THE FUCKIN' WINNER!" Katsuki slurred as he stood, and nearly fell over. Todoroki kept him from falling, and seemed bored. "Where the fuck is Blue Girl?! BLUE HAIR GIRL!"

This is where his memory cut out.

Horror started to creep across his chest, as he watched his drunken self start moving around the room screaming for Blue Hair Girl.

The person recording, probably Denki, was giggling and laughing. Mineta sounded nearby, too.

"Hey, Katsuki-"

"WHAT?!" Drunk Katsuki slurred. The guys around the table started snickering.

"Who are you trying to find?" Denki asked.

"Blue Hair Girl! I want to fuck her!" Drunk Katsuki yelled, and then drunkenly fell on two people sitting at the couch.

Half the room burst into laughter, and the video started shaking.

"Blue Hair Girl!" Katsuki yelled as he awkwardly tried to get off of Ochaco and Tsu's laps. "Blue Hair Girl!"

"Do you mean Yurei?" Ochaco asked, and Katsuki turned to look at her, glaring.

"Who the fuck is Yuri!?" Drunk Katsuki shouted, and then went back to awkwardly trying to get up, which resulted in him falling to the floor.

A lot of the video was him clamoring around the room, yelling about being the "best", "winner", and how he was going to fuck Blue Hair Girl.

Suddenly, Blue Hair Girl appeared in frame, and she didn't look amused.

Drunk Katsuki stopped in front of her, squinting at her, and then reached behind her to grab her bright blue tuft of hair behind her.

"Blue Hair Girl!" Drunk Katsuki shouted in her face, and hung over Katsuki's face heated up, his eyes going wide.

The boys around the table started to laugh.

"Bakugou, you're drunk." Blue Hair Girl told him.

"You're drunk! I'm the fuckin' winner!" Drunk Katsuki slurred, and then, leaned in to kiss her.

… Katsuki's first kiss was when he was black out drunk.

Drunk Katsuki fell through Blue Hair Girl, stumbling, and then followed her to the kitchen.

Watching the video was like watching a horror film.

The video ended.

"What the hell did I do next!?" Katsuki screeched, his voice cracking.

"I have another video." Mineta said, and pulled out his phone.

Katsuki quickly reached for it, and tapped "play."

Instead of being in the kitchen, though, they were outside a door.

Blue Hair Girl was outside the door, smiling, and winked at the camera.

It sounded like someone was vomiting in the bathroom.

"How are you doing in there, Bakugou?" Blue Hair Girl asked.

"I'm a fuckin' winner!" Drunk Katsuki yelled, and then hurled again.

Mineta laughed while holding the camera.

"Yeah, you are, Bakugou." Blue Hair Girl said.

Katsuki's cheeks heated up, and his hand clenched.

_She's taunting me._

"I'm fuckin' drinking them winner." Drunk Bakugou said, and then there was a pause.

"Bakugou, are you okay?" Blue Hair Girl asked.

No response.

She knocked on the door. "Bakugou?"

"My name is Katsuki. Fuck off!" Drunk Katsuki suddenly yelled, and Blue Hair Girl rolled her eyes.

"Who's a winner?" Mineta asked.

"I'm the winner!" Drunk Katsuki yelled, and vomited again.

"You think you're almost done in there, Katsuki?" Blue Hair Girl asked.

No response.

"Katsuki? Bakugou?" She asked, and leaned against the door.

No response.

"You stay out here." Blue Hair Girl told Mineta, and knocked on the door. "I'm coming inside, Katsuki."

She closed the door behind her.

A few seconds passed.

About half a minute, of just looking at the door.

Katsuki glared, wanting to know what she was doing to him.

Mineta then creeped forward, opened the door, and kept recording.

Blue Hair Girl was kneeling next to him, with an arm around him, and Katsuki was crying on her shoulder.

For a while, Mineta stayed there, recording, and Katsuki wondered how he managed to get to his bed last night. He'd figured that he'd just gone to bed after drinking against Eijirou.

"It's okay, Katsuki. Let's get you to bed, okay?" Blue Hair Girl said softly.

Katsuki didn't move, continuing to cry on her shoulder, and he seemed to resist getting up.

"Let's at least get some fluids in you, okay?" Blue Hair Girl suggested.

"No." Drunk Katsuki grumbled.

"Deku's going to beat you, Katsuki! Drink, drink!" Blue Hair Girl encouraged, and to Katsuki's annoyance, it worked.

His eye twitched.

The video ended.

"Why did you record them in the bathroom?" Eijirou asked.

"I thought it was funny." Mineta shrugged, and leaned back with his hands behind his head.

Katsuki swiped to the next video, which seemed to be sometime after the last one.

"W-wait! Hold on! You were only supposed to see that one video!" Mineta yelled, and jumped onto the table, but Katsuki grabbed his face and shoved him back, sending him toppling to the floor.

The video was outside his room.

The door was cracked open, so Mineta crept closer with his phone, capturing a video of drunk Katsuki and Blue Hair Girl in his room. They were standing in front of each other, with Katsuki a few inches taller than her, and he seemed to be holding her shoulders.

"Katsuki, you're drunk. Lay down and go to bed." Blue Hair Girl told him, but he didn't seem to be listening.

He leaned down, seemingly to kiss her, but then wrapped his arms around her, and started crying again.

Katsuki grit his teeth.

They both sat down on the bed, with Blue Hair Girl gently rubbing circles on his back, and comforting him.

His eye twitched.

He skipped ahead in the video, finding that he just cried for a while, and eventually, passed out. She moved him to the center of the bed, took his shoes off, and put one of his blankets over him. Then, took a few waterbottles out of her purse, set then on his nightstand, and wrote a sticky note.

The video cut out after that.

Katsuki deleted the videos.

"But at least you won, right?" Eijirou said awkwardly.

Katsuki threw Mineta's phone at his head, causing the weirdo to fall over again.

"What are you talking about?!" A voice suddenly yelled, and they all turned.

Katsuki cringed.

Blue Hair Girl.

She was on the phone with someone, clearly agitated, and still in her pajamas. She cursed as she walked.

"Morning, Yurei." Eijirou and some of the others greeted.

"Fuck off. Sorry, not you guys." She said, giving an agitated sigh as she continued to the kitchen.

"We have muffins and stuff if you want some!" Eijirou yelled.

"After I get my coffee." She replied.

Katsuki frowned, not wanting to face her after last night.

He recalled the video of him yelling about sleeping with her. At least that was "manly", though- he ended up crying on her shoulder like an idiot.

"Good morning, winner~" Mina sang as she came over. Tsu and Ochaco snickered behind her.

Mina went to Eijirou, hugging him from behind, and kissed his cheek.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Mina asked him.

"I slept great. You?" Eijirou asked.

Katsuki glared at them. They were being gross.

"Great." Mina replied, and they kissed on the lips.

Katsuki looked away, and angrily shoved the last of the muffin in his mouth.

"Why the fuck are people so stupid?" Blue Hair Girl snapped from the kitchen.

"Was that Yurei?" Ochaco asked nearby.

"She's in a mood today." Denki said.

"Maybe she's pregnant." Mineta wondered. Tsu used her tongue to smack him in the face.

"She was on the phone with someone. She seemed upset at them." Eijirou added.

"It might be the losers from her old school again. One of her old friends has been spreading rumors about her, apparently." Mina said.

Blue Hair Girl stormed into the room, wielding coffee, and leaned over Katsuki's shoulder to get a muffin.

Her arm brushed against his shoulder, and he fought the urge to get closer to her. He glared at her, fighting the blush that threatened to creep up his neck.

"Were your old classmates bothering you again?" Mina asked.

"People are fucking morons." Blue Hair Girl said, and then smacked the back of Katsuki's head. "And stop drinking so much. Jesus fucking christ everyone is a toddler."

"Oi, I never asked you to help me last night. I would have been fine without you." Katsuki glared.

"You didn't ask me to help, you followed me around like a lost puppy and tried to fuck me. I'm pretty sure there are ten videos on your Facebook already about it. I don't care that you drink, Katsuki, but be smart about it. Next time you get wasted and try to force yourself on someone, they might not be able to dodge 200 lbs of fucking muscle. If you're going to drink, make sure you have a friend to keep you in line, or else you or someone else could get hurt." Blue Hair Girl lectured.

"I don't need you to fucking lecture me. I'm a grown adult." Katsuki countered, and wished that he could come up with something better.

He lost control.

That wasn't something he was okay with.

He actually agreed with what she was saying, he just hated everything about this situation.

"Then act like it. God, I'm so tired of you grown ass men having temper tantrums." Blue Hair Girl said as she walked off.

Katsuki jumped out of his seat and walked after her.

He grabbed her arm, with only enough force to stop her. No one else was in the main lounge.

She didn't look at him for a moment, taking deep breaths, and Katsuki tried to do the same.

After a little while, her gaze went to his hand still on her arm, and he released her. She took a sip of her coffee, and looked up at him. He briefly paused, looking in those beautiful hazel eyes, and felt a strange sense of calm looking into them.

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you back there. I just got a call from an old classmate. Apparently Ikari is running around telling people I went to his house and beat him up, and that's why he wasn't at school. He and I used to be best friends, and now…" She spoke, and let out a tired sigh.

… Ikari… that name sounded familiar.

"Who's Ikari?" Katsuki asked.

She suddenly smiled, and started to laugh.

He liked that sound.

"You don't even know my name, do you?" She asked.

"Of course I do." Katsuki scoffed.

"Then what is it?" Blue Hair Girl asked.

"... are you so stupid that you don't know your own name?" Katsuki asked.

"Your name is Katsuki Bakugou. I know what my name is, but do you?" She asked.

He racked his brain, trying to remember it. Shit head just said it two minutes ago.

"I guess that's for the better. Ikari is the guy you beat up a couple weeks ago. The one that tried to break into this building." She said.

"Oh, that asshole." Katsuki suddenly remembered. _Right… she was happy I beat him up, or something, so she gave me cookies and sushi._

"Yes, that asshole. After you beat the shit out of him, he told everyone in his class that I'm the one that did it. That, I stormed into his house, angry at him for rejecting me or whatever the hell he's saying, and beat him to near death. His classmates have been calling me to say what a terrible person I am." Blue Hair Girl explained, and sipped her coffee.

"You're not terrible." Katsuki blurted, then added awkwardly, "I mean, you're not great, but you're not terrible."

"A compliment from Katsuki. I'll take it." She shrugged, and took another sip.

"Did I, uh… say anything last night?" Katsuki asked.

"When you were drunk?" She asked, and he narrowed his eyes. _No, when I was sober, moron._ "You mostly just ranted about how great you are. Don't worry, you didn't spill any deep dark secrets or anything. Even if you did, I wouldn't tell anyone. I'm a pretty good secret keeper."

"Good." He nodded awkwardly.

"I don't mind helping out when things don't go as planned. I just want people to be safe." Blue Hair Girl said.

"Whatever. Good luck with your… thing." Katsuki said with a lame wave, and went back to the dining room.

"Did you have fun fucking Blue Hair Girl?" Mina teased, and the group started laughing.

15.

Day 22, Sunday, 3:00 PM

As the day went on, something strange started to happen.

Whenever anything sex related happened to Mina, Ochaco, Tsu, and Toru, they all went straight to her. She was becoming all of their secret keepers.

Considering that she hadn't known them for long, she was touched that they thought so highly of her.

She also really, really didn't need all the details of people's genitals.

"It was kind of fun," Mina said in a hushed voice, and kept looking around them, making sure that no one was listening. "I mean, I keep doing things, and it gets bigger! It's like a game. Maybe I should cover it in some kind of candy better. It kind of tasted weird."

"There are some flavored lubricants out there." Yurei said.

"Do you think I'm a slut?" Mina asked her.

"No."

"Do you think other people would think I'm a slut?"

"What you and Eijirou do is none of their business." Yurei reminded her, and Mina giggled and smiled.

"It was so much fun, though." Mina giggled. After a while of going into detail, she skipped off, bounding up the stairs for something.

Almost immediately, Eijirou hopped over the side of the couch, taking Mina's old spot.

"Has Mina said anything about me?" Eijrou asked.

"She hasn't talked about anything else." Yurei replied, and his face lit up. He was absolutely elated.

"Do you think she had fun last night? I just… I'm nervous, I've never had a girlfriend before." He admitted.

"She was fine, you were fine, everything is fine, don't stress." Yurei assured, and he let out a big sigh of relief.

"So what's going on between you and Katsuki?" Eijirou asked.

"What about him?" Yurei asked.

"You seem to be helping him a lot lately. Also the whole… him trying to sleep with you last night. He never wants to have sex with people." Eijirou said with a smile.

"I help people who need help. I helped Todoroki the other time. Last night, I made sure everyone was hydrated, and handed out snacks." Yurei reminded him.

"How many people did you tuck into bed, though?" Eijirou asked.

"One other person. For privacy reasons, I'm not going to disclose who." Yurei said, and his eyebrows rose.

"So are you, like, the mother of the dorms? Looking after people during wild parties?" Eijirou asked.

"I guess. I have fun too, though. Mina makes sure that I get to party." Yurei said, and Eijirou grinned at that.

"Sometimes I'm not sure if she likes kissing me or you, more." Eijirou admitted.

"You. I'm just her warm up." Yurei said, and tried to add a smile, to seem casual about it. His smile faltered slightly, though. She hadn't meant to disclose that little detail.

"How have you been since last week, when you had to eat all that food? That was related to your second quirk, right?" Eijirou asked.

Yurei checked around them, making sure no one was listening.

"You can manipulate feelings, right?"

"When Katsuki was drugged, I kept him calm, so that it wouldn't rush through his system. Recovery Girl used her quirk to minimize his body's reaction to the drug as it slowly passed through his system. I had to constantly keep using my quirk on him, which I'm not used to doing, and then I went straight to sleep afterward. Using my quirk so heavily and then not eating had been a mistake." Yurei explained.

"So that means you can sense Katsuki's feelings, right? Does he like you?" Eijirou asked, and she let out a tired sigh.

"Katsuki… feels a lot of things very strongly. When he's upset or feeling different, I'll usually notice him over someone else, simply because his emotions are so loud. When it comes to attraction, I can tell when someone is experiencing sexual or romantic attraction, but not the direction." Yurei said.

"Do you like him?" Eijirou asked with a smile.

"Why do care?" Yurei countered.

"You're avoiding the question." Eijirou said.

"I'm… I don't know. Not really. I enjoy his presence some days, for reasons related to my quirk, but I'd rather not date someone so violent." Yurei explained, and he nodded in understanding.

"Do you like anyone else?" Eijirou asked.

"Eh. I went through a lot of things at my old school, so I'm not eager to jump into the dating world again." Yurei admitted.

"Would you be interested in doing a double date with me and Mina sometime? I could find a cute boy to go with you… or I could ask around for a girl." He added.

She chuckled, and smiled. "Honestly, dating a girl sounds nice. Guys are a bit… aggressive."

"I'll ask around." Eijirou said with a smile, and turned, hearing Mina's familiar squeal of excitement.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Dangers of Being a Hero_

Day 22, Sunday, 7:00 PM

A few hours later, as Yurei sat in the library studying, her pocket vibrated.

She pulled out her phone, finding that she'd received a text from Eijirou.

_Edgy Eiji: What do you think of Denki?_

Yurei pondered the boy, trying to recall what she knew about him. He seemed silly and a bit on the perverted side from what she recalled. A few times during class, when his emotions were a bit unnerving, she'd scoot just a little bit closer to Katsuki.

_Me: Eh._

_Hopefully Denki isn't looking over his shoulder._ Yurei thought, and smiled.

That would be pretty awkward.

_Edgy Eiji: Would you be willing to give him a chance? He's a really nice guy._

Yurei frowned, and bit the inside of her cheek.

She didn't mind being around him in casual settings, but spending an hour or more with him, with his… feelings….

_Me: Sorry. Nothing personal._

_Edgy Eiji: That's fine, no worries. What about Tenya?_

Tenya was a bit high strung, but she overall enjoyed him.

_Me: Tenya is nice._

_Edgy Eiji: Nice enough to do a double date this weekend?_

Yurei chuckled.

_Me: Sure._

Then, she received a call from her dad, and she quickly answered. "Hey dad, what's up? I'm at the library."

A few tables over, a random student with neon yellow eyes glared at her.

"I'm sorry to bother you Yurei, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in getting some field experience. We can't get enough heroes for this mission, and we just need you for a small part." Her dad said, and she paused.

Her quirk didn't work when she was scared enough.

She hadn't told him about that.

"I can't tell you the details over the phone, but your quirk would be extremely helpful. Mirio already has other engagements, otherwise I'd ask him, and I'd ideally like to get one other hero. Someone with a lot of firepower." Her dad explained.

"... how much danger would be involved?" Yurei asked.

"No more danger than usual. I can't give you any solid details on the phone." Her dad said.

"... there's a couple of students in my class who are really promising. Katsuki Bakugou won the school tournament a couple months ago, and Todoroki-"

"Bakugou, the explosion kid?" Her dad asked.

"... yeah. Actually, there's another student, Iida, who is really fast. He comes from a family of heroes, and his quirk could be useful for your kind of mission." Yurei added.

"Bakugou would be perfect for what we need. I'll contact the school and get everything arranged. If Bakugou refuses to do this, we'll look into the other students you mentioned. I have someone on their way to pick you up now; wear something durable and thin. You might be staying the night at the station. Yoji will be at your dorm in roughly thirty minutes to pick you and Bakugou up." Her father said, and hung up.

Yurei took a deep breath, and started packing up her things.

After getting back to her dorm and changing, she saw Katsuki by the main entrance, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He leaned by the doorframe, looking bored and uninterested.

"Did you accept?" Yurei asked him.

"Of course I did. I get to blow shit up and field experience." Katsuki replied.

She could sense his nervousness, but he did a remarkable job in hiding it. His red eyes looked serene and calm, his muscles relaxed, and hair the usual mess.

"Do you know anything about my dad's department?" Yurei asked.

"Who's your dad?" Katsuki asked, unironically.

She sighed.

These missions were dangerous, and they needed people who could follow orders. She really wished that her dad had gone with Iida or Todoroki instead.

They must need his quirk really bad.

"My dad is probably the one that contacted you about the offer. He's in charge of the team that takes down human trafficking rings. The missions are delicate, detailed, and if you mess up, innocent people can die. Human trafficking is a pretty lucrative business, and there are a lot of powerful villains in them. They have a lot of money and can afford to hire the best." Yurei described, but that just seemed to excite him.

"Sounds fun." He commented with a sadistic smirk.

"There's a reason why they're always short on heroes, Katsuki. They-"

"Since when do you call me Katsuki?" He interrupted.

"Since you got drunk and kept yelling at me to call you Katsuki. You should take this more seriously." Yurei told him. He shrugged.

"All I need to know is who to beat up." Katsuki replied.

"Have you ever dealt with victims before?" Yurei asked.

"Victims of what?" Katsuki asked.

"Of anything. Natural disasters, trauma- I mean, aside from the trauma you inflict." Yurei said.

"I blow shit up. There's no reason to make it more complicated than that." Katsuki said.

Yurei let out an aggravated sigh.

She trained over the last five years for her father's department; to be one of their stable heroes. They lost a lot of people by outsourcing heroes all the time, and the people they were saving deserved better than that.

Problems can't be solved by just 'blowing shit up.' Hopefully, though, that's all the Katsuki would need to do. Hopefully, he'd be able to show restraint.

"Relax, Blue Hair Girl, everything will be fine with me around." Katsuki said cockily.

"It's heroes like you that end up getting people killed at my dad's job. Almost all the fuck ups on their missions are from dumb heroes who aren't trained for that line of work." Yurei told him.

"Good thing I'm not a dumb hero." He replied, and she wanted to strangle him.

"If you're so fucking smart, then what's my name, asshole?" Yurei asked him.

"Blue Hair Girl. Duh." Katsuki replied.

Yurei huffed in aggravation, crossing her arms over her chest, and looked away.

1.

Day 22, Sunday, 8:00 PM

When they got to the station, most of the staff greeted Yurei by her first name.

Everyone knew her.

They were also extra friendly to Katsuki, constantly thanking him for helping out, and telling him that what he was doing was "nothing short of absolutely amazing."

His ego would never recover.

When they reached her father's cubicle, he turned, and stood. Her father was a bit older than most, having had Yurei when he was in his early forties. He had a fine trimmed mustache, piercing dark eyes, and was a bit shorter than average height. He was a bit portly, given how much of his job was done at his desk, and he wore a formal suit with a black tie, just like most others in the office.

He bowed to Katsuki, giving him a friendly smile and thanking him repeatedly for coming.

"I'm detective Kasai, Yurei's father. I'm still thankful for what you did to protect my daughter when she first enrolled at your school. I've been hoping to repay that debt, so I hope that the field experience will help you. If everything goes well, you'll have some great experience to use in your career, and you'll be helping a lot of people." Her father explained, and Yurei realized that his presence was purely because of Ikari.

_You shouldn't bring in heroes to repay personal debts, dad._ Yurei thought in irritation.

She had a lot of complaints about how they decided what heroes to use for their missions. They rarely considered personality or experience in heroes, only looking at their quirk and track record. In her opinion, that's what usually resulted in more mess ups. They needed people who could use their quirks well in this field, not flashy quirk users.

Her father explained that flashy could be good, and got a lot of good publicity for their department. Good publicity meant more funding.

"When do I get to blow stuff up?" Katsuki asked.

"We'll be having a meeting in a half hour about it. In the meantime, do you want a snack or drink?" Detective Kasai asked.

"I'm good." Katsuki shrugged.

"If you change your mind, Yurei can get you something. She knows where everything is in the breakroom. Actually, while you're waiting, Yurei can show you around the building. I'll text her once the meeting is ready for you two." Detective Kasai said.

"Alright, see you later, dad." Yurei said, and Katsuki nodded. They walked away, down the rows of cubicles, towards the break room.

"So if I ask for water, you have to get it?" Katsuki asked with a smirk.

"We're going to the break room, you can get it yourself." Yurei said.

"I thought you were going to give me a tour?" Katsuki asked.

"You realize that you're not actually going to end up doing a lot, right?" Yurei asked as they walked. His smirk faltered slightly. "What they'll probably do is have you be on back up. You probably won't leave the van until everything is done. While I'm going around helping people in the aftermath, my dad will have you tag along, as a bodyguard. Because of my quirk, I'll be targeted."

"Eh. Experience is still experience." Katsuki said.

"Yep. And, assuming this goes well, you'll have a great thing to put on your resume: Freshman helps H.T.S. stop human trafficking ring. You'll even have a recommendation from my dad, assuming you don't accidentally blow up kids." Yurei said.

"Weren't you just saying earlier how dangerous this job is?" Katsuki asked as they reached the breakroom.

"That was before I realized that my dad chose you to thank you for beating up Ikari." Yurei said, and he narrowed his eyes at her. She shrugged, and went over to the fridge, opening it up.

2.

Day 22, Sunday, 9:00 PM

Katsuki and Yurei sat next to each other at the long, rectangular table. There were about thirty people at the table, most of them men, and there was a projector screen displaying information.

Her dad's boss, Chief Murei, was leading the presentation.

"Before we start, let's thank our heroes for joining us. We appreciate that you're willing to put your lives on the line for these innocent civilians, and that shows a lot of bravery from you. As you know, we haven't been able to find a permanent hero for our department, so we welcome guest heroes with open arms." Chief Murei said, and the table started clapping for the three heroes.

Katsuki wasn't quite as thrilled as before; probably because there was another, actual hero there. They could create weapons with their blood, and went by the hero name "Energy Force".

"So that everyone's aware of these heroes quirks: Bakugou's quirk is explosion, Kasai's is phasing and empathy, and Energy Force is blood manipulation. We're hoping to make use of all your quirks for this mission, but we're going to rely mostly on our SWAT team." Chief Murei started to explain, and then went into the actual plan.

Effectively, there was one main building filled with victims, and then a side building used for business transactions. They would have Yurei sneak in, confirm that their information was correct, and then they would go in with their SWAT team.

There was a villain, Licking Flames, who had the ability to turn his arms into rocket launchers. They were planning to have Energy Force take him out. He was the only main villain, and they were pretty sure that there were no other high paid mercenaries or villains there. The rest were highly trained, but the SWAT team could take care of them.

There were sections of the building with extremely thick walls holding some of the victims and valuable items. Katsuki would be blowing up those walls with a controlled explosive force.

Once the initial bad guys were out, Katsuki would be sticking by Yurei's side while walking around helping people. If things, for whatever reason, went south, they were supposed to protect each other and stay by each other's side.

_Katsuki will probably get a good workout. While I'm using my quirk, we'll need him to help with lifting people._ Yurei thought.

At the end, Chief Murei asked if anyone asked questions.

3.

Day 23, Monday, 12:00 AM

Yurei wasn't as nervous as she thought she'd be, as she stood by the van in uniform.

She wore a bullet proof vest, a helmet, padded jacket and pants. Pretty much her entire body was covered, with no skin showing.

Everyone else was going through lists, making sure they knew the plan, and double checking their equipment. There were five vans in total, dozens of armed people, and she could sense a lot of anxiety from the people around her.

She was a bit warm, from wearing so many layers, but she was trying to get used to wearing the helmet. In the future, she'd be wearing it for longer periods of time.

Katsuki was annoyed, glaring at people and shoving his hands into his pockets, probably wishing that he could have a bigger task than just blowing up walls. They could literally just use small explosives in his place.

"How often do missions like this go wrong?" Katsuki asked her.

"They rarely go exactly as planned, but usually the mistakes are from the heroes. Don't deviate from the plan just because you want to. You're going to be seeing a lot of upset people, so you're not going to get bored. There's a reason why I had a light dinner." Yurei said.

He sighed, but didn't say anything else.

Most of his time would be spent in the van, wearing his helmet, being treated like a kid.

"I see why a lot of heroes don't choose this department." He said with a frown.

"If you signed up to be a hero here, you would guaranteed be fighting at every mission." Yurei said, and Katsuki gave her a skeptical look. "This is a pretty small mission, compared to their usual ones. The reason why this one is so simple is because they had a lot of spies in high positions there, so they convinced the bosses to not higher bigger villains. The more information we have, the more the SWAT team can do, and the less they rely on heroes. When we go after places, they're usually more heavily guarded."

"How often do missions like this happen? Like, when heroes join, how often do they get to fight?" Katsuki asked.

"They do raids about once a month, and how much the hero does depends on their quirk and how much they want to help. If you joined, you would probably go with some of the spies to collect information, and defend them if they're attacked or something goes wrong. Sometimes they need a hero to protect a high profile witness for their case. Heroes in this department are never bored." Yurei explained, and he nodded along.

"Huh." He nodded, and she had no idea what that meant.

Knowing him, she was just talking to a brick wall with selective hearing.

"My dad suggested that I try out a few different departments before working in this one full time. Because of how emotionally draining it is, he's even suggested that I work part time, so that I don't get exhausted from it. That's one of the biggest reasons why heroes don't stay here; it's just too much, emotionally." Yurei said, and he quietly nodded along.

"Do you usually play such a huge role in these missions?" Katsuki asked.

"No, this is the first time I'll be put in such a dangerous position. Usually I'm supposed to stay in a safe location, usually with my dad, until all enemies have been taken out. Usually I deal more with the victims than the villains." Yurei said.

"Are you nervous?" Katsuki asked.

"Not really. I guess that I've done these enough times, that I know what to expect by now." Yurei replied, and he nodded again, seeming lost in thought.

"Why do you have your helmet on so soon, Yu Yu? Afraid of some friendly fire?" Detective Tomo jested as he came over to them, and she took her helmet off. He was a little older than her dad and had joined when her dad did. They were good friends.

"When am I not being shot at by you, Tomo? You make fun of me everytime I visit my dad at work." Yurei told him with mock hurt.

"As if you're not firing, too. You made him cry when you made fun of his hair." His partner, Detective Kiken joked next to him. Then, he turned to Katsuki, "My name is Detective Kiken, and this is Detective Tomo. If you have any questions or concerns, don't be afraid to ask. We'll be with you in the van, in charge of operations. If you get scared or need to throw up, we have puking bags inside, along with mints and water. Before we leave, I suggest you take a bathroom break."

Katsuki nodded.

"Thank you for protecting little Yu Yu for us at UA. We were all shocked when we heard about what Ikari did. We'd have him in prison if we could." Detective Tomo said.

"Can we not talk about that?" Yurei requested.

"Sure. Actually, you might want to remind Tuna about your quirk, and your limits with it. She's pretty new to the department and hasn't worked with you yet. She's in charge of what happens with the victims." Detective Kiken suggested.

"Good idea." Yurei nodded, and looked for her. Once visually located, she waved to the two detectives, and walked over to her.

Tuna was an agent from child protective services, and even though she was largely in charge of the children they would be saving, she would have temporary say over the adult victims and their placement. Once they were better processed, they would go elsewhere.

As soon as Yurei got close, Tuna's dark eyes snapped to her, and glared with a venom she didn't expect. Yurei tensed, feeling her anger and hostility, and was tempted to just awkwardly walk away and pretend like she hadn't come over to talk to her.

"Hey, uh… Tomo suggested that I talk to you about the victims. My name is Yurei." Yurei introduced.

"You're not going anywhere near the victims." Tuna stated, and Yurei blinked in surprise.

"... excuse me?" Yurei asked.

"The last two times heroes have gone anywhere near victims in these raids, they ended up traumatizing them more. I don't want you anywhere near them." Tuna explained.

"I'm not a normal hero, though. I've worked with victims before." Yurei said.

"By using a mind altering quirk to alter their emotional state." Tuna said.

"So that when they see a bunch of people in bullet proof vests come in, they're not completely terrified and try to hurt themselves or others. Once they're in a safe position, I release my quirk, and they usually go to baseline. I've never heard any complaints before." Yurei explained.

"A teenager altering a person's emotional state is the last thing these children need. Do you have any idea what's been happening to them? Most of them have been raped for years, some of them as young as three months old, heavily drugged, mutilated, some of them even amputated or lobotomized. I'm not going to have an eighteen year old rape victim messing with their heads after they've been through so much." Tuna said.

Yurei's chest tightened, and she tried not to show how much her words hurt.

Ikari's dad worked in another law enforcement agency, and was well respected. Tuna probably worked with him.

Is that all Yurei was to law enforcement, now? A mind altering rape victim?

"Considering that your emotional quirk can induce such rage in your victims, I wouldn't be surprised if you're banned from using that quirk soon, anyway. Your phasing quirk is much more useful." Tuna added.

"Fuck you, too. I've helped hundred of people with my quirk, and all you're doing is denying fifty kids a smooth transition into custody. Instead of calm kids, they're going to be absolutely terrified of you, and scarred for life. It'll take months to build trust with them, and harder to find them homes." Yurei told her.

"Your method involves effectively drugging them, which is no better than the drugs that the bad men do to them." Tuna said, and before Yurei could reply, added, "Once you've done the reconnaissance part of your job, you'll hang back with Bakugou. All you have to do is stand there and do nothing, while the adults take care of things."

Yurei bit her tongue.

Tuna wasn't going to change her mind.

Yurei stuffed her hands into her pockets, turned, and went towards the bathroom. She needed a minute alone.

4.

Day 23, Monday, 12:15 AM

Katsuki was surprised by the uneasiness he felt when she left his side.

This was all new to him. She was the only person he knew there.

"So, what do you think of Yurei?" One of the detectives asked. Katsuki had already forgotten his name, and was mentally referring to him as "Big Nose". The other one was "Small Eyes."

"What do you mean?" Katsuki asked.

"Do you like her?" Big Nose asked.

"She talks a lot." Katsuki said indifferently.

"But she's cute, though, right?" Big Nose insisted.

"Eh." Katsuki shrugged.

Before they could question him more, someone came over to them, asking them about equipment or whatever. They went inside the van, to the computer station, and started looking stuff up.

Katsuki went back to quietly observing the operations here.

Everything was mostly organized. People knew what they were supposed to do. They said a bunch of things he didn't understand, and he assumed was just the language they developed from working here for so long. He guessed that that was part of what Yurei was talking about earlier; new heroes working with them for the first time simply wouldn't understand what they were saying, and would make a mistake based on that.

A little while later, Yurei returned, but she didn't seem as calm and confident as before. Her breathing was a little erratic, her eyes a little red, and she pulled out her phone, avoiding looking at him.

"You okay?" Katsuki asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone." Yurei replied, and he frowned.

He glanced over at the lady she talked to before, who was talking to a group of other people.

"There's a change in plans. Instead of you following me around and helping people, we're supposed to stand on the sidelines watching. Aside from me checking that our intelligence is correct at the beginning, we won't be doing shit." Yurei told him in a low voice.

"Will they still be using me for blowing stuff up?" Katsuki asked.

"I doubt it." She said, and then nodded her head to one of the other vans.

Someone was carrying a box labeled "explosives."

"Shit." Katsuki cursed. "What the hell happened?"

"Tuna. She doesn't want any of the heroes anywhere near the victims. She's a fucking moron." Yurei said in a low voice, and they looked up as the three detectives got out of the van.

"Hello young man, my name is Reidi. Have you done anything like this before?" Detective Reidi introduced. He was a big guy with broad shoulders, and stood at almost seven feet tall.

"I've fought villains before." Katsuki said stiffly.

"Oh, right! You're that kid that keeps popping up in the news! The League of Villains has had their eye on you, it seems." Reidi said, and Katsuki held back from punching him in the face.

He despised that people knew him that way.

"Have you heard the change in plans?" Yurei asked Big Nose.

"What change?" He asked.

"Tuna doesn't want the heroes anywhere near the victims." Yurei said, and all three detectives blinked at her in confusion.

"And you explained your quirk?" Big Nose asked.

"Yeah. I'm guessing by all the explosives, you guys aren't planning to use Katsuki, either." Yurei said.

"Let me go talk to her." Big Nose said, and the three detectives went over to talk to the person that Yurei had spoken to before.

They both watched as the group started to argue with her. Whatever was going on, the three detectives they just spoke to looked pissed. Two of them looked close to punching Weird Chin (Tuna) in the face.

"If she wasn't being such a bitch about it, I wouldn't care. She has a point about most heroes traumatizing victims, but that's because they don't have experience. I can't believe someone like her is in charge of dealing with abuse." Yurei ranted next to him.

"What did she say to piss you off so much?" Katsuki asked curiously.

"Stupid shit. I'm probably the most qualified hero this department has had in years, and she's…" She trailed off, clenching her jaw and trying to regulate her breathing again.

Katsuki could relate in that moment. He was still pissed about the news comment from that loser.

_Stop sympathizing with her._ He thought agitatedly, but couldn't bring himself to feel anger. He just… liked her being close by.

5.

Day 23, Monday, 1:30 AM

As soon as her dad gave her the sign, she phased out of the van, going beneath, and crept along the ground, with only the top part of her head visible. Most of her body stayed in the ground, to avoid detection, and she stayed in the shadows.

She paused in an alleyway, taking a few breaths, and eyed the dark building before her. It was an old elementary school, recently renovated. She recognized the outside from the picture she'd seen.

"_Your method involves effectively drugging them, which is no better than the drugs that the bad men do to them."_ She recalled angrily.

She took a deep breath, exhaled, and then sunk into the floor again, moving towards the abandoned school.

She went to the first large room, which is where most of the kids were supposed to be stored, but she didn't sense them. Activating her nightvision goggles, she slowly moved towards the room of empty beds, searching for bodies.

There were at least two people inside, deathly scared, and they were both on one bed, huddling each other. When Yurei got closer, she could see that they were children, only a few years old.

She crept past them, silent, and searched for anyone else.

She peaked inside the other rooms nearby.

No one.

No one was here, except for those two kids.

_Maybe they're in the other building._ Yurei wondered, and went back to the two children.

They were absolutely terrified.

Crying.

Their sounds were muffled, though, as if there was something over their mouths.

She got closer, trying to be perfectly silent as she observed them, and pondered what to do.

Before reporting back to her dad, she needed information.

She pulled back the blanket, and when their fear spiked, she used her quirk to bring them to a calm, slightly happy state.

She stood up a little more, looking at them, and saw that one of their stomachs was protruding oddly.

Yurei reached forward, touching the taught flesh, and the child moaned in pain.

There were fresh, bloody, stitches along their abdomen, and their stomach didn't feel right.

The child reached out to her, touching her helmet, and Yurei reached up to hold her hand.

Those big eyes looked up at her, crying, and her lips trembled.

"It'll be okay." Yurei whispered.

She made her feel loved.

The little girl smiled a little, still shaking.

Yurei was about to contact her father, to let him know what she found, but then she heard a beeping.

Some kind of light was blinking from the girl's stomach.

6.

Day 23, Monday, 1:30 AM

Katsuki sat in the van, wearing the dumb helmet, and sighed for the umpteenth time as he watched the screens.

They were watching Yurei sneak into the facility.

"She'll be fine." Big Nose assured Yurei's father, and patted him on the back.

"She's still my daughter. Sometimes, I wonder if I've let her down by letting her follow my path."

"She's tougher than you are, old man. Yurei is determined to help people, and she has one of the best combination of quirks in the country. Even if she doesn't join us, she'll use her quirk somewhere else, and help people." Big Nose said.

"I can't believe Ikari was so stupid. Their quirks were so complementary to each other." Small Eyes said with a sigh.

"I used to think his father was a good man, but after all of this… he's showing his true colors. Both of them have." Yurei's father said with a tired sigh, and leaned back in his chair.

Katsuki wished that they would let him take his helmet off. No one else had to wear one.

Katsuki sighed as he went back to watching the screens again, watching the dormant building that Yurei had entered.

Then, in the blink of an eye, there was an explosion. Katsuki felt the vibrations.

The cameras cut out.

"Shit! Yurei!" Yurei's dad yelled, throwing off his headphones, but then the van lurched, being hit by something.

They flew in the air, flipping, smashed into what Katsuki guessed was a building, and then they smashed into the ground.

A lot of the equipment scattered around them, and Katsuki's neck hurt, having landed awkwardly on his head. He shifted, trying to get upright, and heard gunshots outside.

The door was slightly ajar, so he peered outside.

There was a car near them with two SWAT team members behind it, firing at someone. They were both wearing helmets.

One of the bullets went clear through someone's head and helmet.

Katsuki's eyes widened, and he looked around, trying to get an idea for where and how many people were shooting.

It was too fucking dark to see anything, and his helmet limited his vision.

The dinging of metal rang a little too close, and he looked over, watching as multiple holes appeared in the side of the van.

He flattened himself against the ground, putting his arms over his head, despite knowing that it wouldn't help if he was shot.

He heard cries behind him.

"Bakugou, stay down!" One of the men behind him yelled.

He didn't dare move.

"Energy Force is down! I repeat! Energy Force is down! Calling Back Up units and all available heroes!" Someone yelled through a radio.

Katsuki didn't have any fucking training in gun fights.

He was a close range fighter, not long range, and these assholes could shoot through fucking cars.

When the shooting slowed, he peered through the door again, and saw that the second SWAT team member had fallen.

_Shit, this is bad._

"Ghost to all H.T.S. teams, I've taken out as many enemy shooters as I can find. Tell me the location of any left and I'll take them out." Yurei spoke over the headset.

Katsuki peered behind him, and he tensed.

There was a lot of bodies. A lot of blood.

Stillness.

Katsuki strangely felt like he was staring at a painting.

He wasn't sure if they were all dead, but they looked like it.

A few more shots came down on him, so he flattened himself again, trying to take up as little space as possible.

"Hilda to Ghost, there's two shooters by the Mongoose van." Someone spoke over the radio.

"I'm on my way." Yurei replied.

_She gets to fucking fight, and I have to cower like a fucking child._ Katsuki thought irritably.

If he had a gun, or any long range weapon like his grenades, he would go out there. He wasn't stupid, though. There was no place to hide and the shooter was determined to kill everyone inside this van.

The shots stopped.

For a strange, terrifying moment, everything was completely silent.

"Ghost to Hilda, did I get the ones you were talking about?" Yurei asked over the radio, and Katsuki let out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like it. What's the status on the children?" Hilda asked.

"There were only two in the building, and they were implanted with explosives. This was a set up. They knew we were coming." Yurei replied.

Katsuki focused on his breathing for a moment, calming his racing heart, and looked around him again.

Someone appeared by the door, and he put his hand up instinctively, ready to attack them.

"Are you guys okay in there?" Yurei asked outside, and he lowered his hand as she attempted to open the door.

"I am, but I'm not sure about the others." Katsuki said on the ground.

As she came inside, Katsuki crawled out, and looked around, searching for any possible snipers or other shooters she missed.

"Ghost to Hilda, we have injured. I've got two shot and one dead in the Mongoose van." Yurei spoke inside, and as Katsuki stood there, he tried to absorb everything that happened.

They were clear across the street from where they'd been parked. Someone must have shot at them from down the alley.

His attention turned to the two bodies on the ground near him.

They were so still, like sacks of rice.

It was hard for him to register that they were people once.

Just like him.

"Katsuki!" Yurei called from the van, and he turned to her. "I'm going to move my dad to the sidewalk next to the van, I need you to stay with him and apply pressure to his shoulder wound as I deal with Kiken."

"... okay, yeah." Katsuki nodded.

7.

Day 23, Monday, 4:00 AM

Time seemed to crawl as they sat in the waiting room.

Yurei's father was still in surgery. He'd received two bullets to the chest and shoulder.

He'd never seen so much blood before.

Katsuki's phone was almost dead, or else he would be using that.

Yurei had turned unusually quiet once they got to the waiting room.

She just sat there, her elbows on her thighs, and hardened gaze on her bloody hands. Her hair was a mess, frizzy from the helmet, and her skin was a bit paler than usual. Her right index finger kept tapping against her knuckles.

Katsuki looked to one of the TV screens, and gave a tired sigh. It was a sales channel, showing off decorative dog leashes.

There were a few other people in the room. Family members of other people shot.

The main entrance slid open, and Katsuki glanced over, jumping slightly when he realized that he recognized them. Aizawa was on his way over to them, with his usual tired eyes and uninterested expression.

He sat down next to Yurei.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Aizawa asked in a calm voice.

"Everything went to shit. The only victims in that fucking building were two kids. At least twelve of our people were killed. Fort-five injured. Fifteen in intensive care." Yurei said, and as she did, a doctor came out. He addressed two people, a mother and five year old kid. "Make that thirteen."

"Were either of you injured?" Aizawa asked.

"No. After the explosion, I ran around knocking out as many guys as I could. There were a lot of them. They knew where all of our forces were and were in strategic positions to take them out. They didn't just know we were coming, they knew everything about the plan." Yurei explained.

"Her dad is in surgery right now." Katsuki added.

Aizawa put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She was still unmoving, just staring at her hands.

"You did a good job. If you hadn't been there, this would have been a lot worse." Aizawa said.

"They could have just put the explosions around the building, and not bothered with the kids. They probably wanted to lure me in, so that I would get caught up in the blast." Yurei said.

"What matters is that you're safe. Both of you." Aizawa said, and glanced Katsuki's way.

Katsuki looked away, trying not to yell at him.

He was useless. Again.

Always fucking useless.

"Have you two eaten?" Aizawa suddenly asked, and as if on cue, Yurei's stomach started to whine.

"Did you use your weird quirk a lot again?" Katsuki asked her.

"... I don't know. I guess." She said indifferently.

"Last time she used her quirk a lot, she ate a ton of food. Apparently if she doesn't eat right after using it, she turns psycho and slips into a coma, or some shit." Katsuki recalled.

"So long as I snack for the next few hours, and have a big breakfast, it should be fine." Yurei said calmly.

"What kind of food do you want?" Aizawa asked.

"What's open this late?" Yurei asked.

Aizawa pulled out his phone, and started to check.

"There's a 24/7 ramen place down the street." Aizawa said, and after getting their orders, left.

Another doctor came out, but this time, when they looked around, they stopped on Yurei.

She straightened her posture, looking up at him, and let out a shaky breath.

"He's stable, for now." He said, and Yurei let out a sigh of relief. He continued, talking about the specifics, and she nodded along.

8.

Day 23, Monday, 5:00 AM

Katsuki ended up falling asleep on her shoulder.

She strangely liked the contact.

He was also so much calmer when he was asleep.

Other family members had started accumulating in the room. Some of them were crying.

Yurei focused on her breathing, and occasionally looked up at the TV, which had changed to a news station.

They were showing footage of the area that everything went down at.

They cut to cameras outside the hospital. They interviewed a few family members. Most people declined, though.

Yurei debated going out there.

She'd never been on TV before.

According to the captions, someone had told them that one of the heroes subdued thirty enemy gunmen during the confrontation. They weren't disclosing which one, yet. The names of those wounded and killed hadn't been disclosed, either.

When a reporter got close, to answer questions, Aizawa calmly asked them to leave.

When a new person entered, she expected them to be another family member, but was surprised when they stopped in front of Yurei. She looked up, coming face to face with Tuna.

She looked like a mess.

"I need to talk to you about what happened." Tuna said. She was still wearing the H.T.S. jacket.

"I already gave statements." Yurei told her.

"Yes, and you said that you used your quirk on two children, after I specifically told you not to. You were supposed to walk in there, look around, and report. Instead, you disobeyed an order and interacted with the victims." Tuna told her.

"I wanted to find out more information before reporting back. Those kids were scared, so I calmed them down." Yurei said with a glare.

"You drugged them with your quirk, after-"

Anger rose in her chest, and she quickly snapped back, "I saved your fucking life, Tuna. What-"

"Agent Tuna." She corrected.

"Agent Tuna," Aizawa interrupted, before Yurei could snap at her again. "Kasai is a student from my school who volunteered to assist in this raid, and was humble enough to spend time away from her studies to help you do your job. Her father is in intensive care right now, because someone in your department gave information to your enemies. I suggest that, instead of interrogating her, you start interrogating your own people."

Aizawa was now her favorite teacher.

Tuna glared at him, anger rushing through her, and she tried to keep her composure.

"I've been doing this for a long time, Eraser Head, and I've never had a raid go this badly before. This is also the first time we've ever included heroes in training." Tuna said pointedly.

"This is Kasai's fifth raid, if I'm not mistaken, so it's not the first time that your department has done it, and all of those raids went smoothly. As she pointed out, you wouldn't be alive to have this conversation if she hadn't acted quickly and gone beyond her orders. As for Bakugou, he followed orders perfectly. Even Energy Force followed instruction before getting killed in the line of duty. From where I'm standing, Agent Tuna, all of this would have been much worse without Kasai." Aizawa told her.

"I still ordered her to not use her emotion quirk on anyone, and she disobeyed that order." Tuna said.

"That was before we knew there were children with bombs stuffed into their stomachs." Yurei snapped.

"Yurei's quirk has been extensively studied by her doctors to confirm that there are no ill side effects from her quirk. Yurei followed her training and helped people in need, just like any good person would do, and doing so did not conflict with _official_ orders." Aizawa emphasized.

Tuna grit her teeth.

She really wanted to blame Yurei for something. Yurei wondered if it was personal, or if she hated all heroes.

"Yurei!" Her mother cried from the main door, and Yurei stood, seeing her crying mother by the entrance. She ran over to her, pulling her in for a hug, and started to explain what happened.

9.

Day 23, Monday, 9:00 AM

Several hours later, Katsuki finally got back to the dorms.

He felt like shit.

He smelled like it, too.

He had planned to go to his room and sleep, but to his misfortune, a chorus of "KATSUKI!"s came from the main lounge.

"Why the fuck aren't you losers in class?" Katsuki barked at them.

"Aizawa canceled class." Deku answered, and Katsuki glared at him.

"We saw the news. What happened out there?" Eijirou asked as he ran to him, and several others crowded around him, too.

"Were you the hero that took out thirty-two enemy gunmen?" Ochaco asked.

"Fuck off." Katsuki grumbled.

"Where's Yurei? Is she okay?" Mina asked.

"She's fine, she's at the hospital. Her dad got shot." Katsuki said, and they all gasped. The only way they'd let him leave was if he answered their dumb questions, so he tiredly did.

10.

Day 24, Tuesday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, Katsuki was surprised to see Yurei show up for class.

She seemed tired, with bags under her eyes, and she seemed a bit thinner than usual.

"Yurei!" Mina screamed, and ran to her, jumping into her arms. She placed a series of kisses on her face, and the rest of their class started gathering around her, asking questions and expressing concern about her dad.

"My dad will be fine, thankfully. Surgery was a success, and he has one more at the end of the week." Yurei told them.

"You took down thirty-two gunmen! You're amazing!" Mina exclaimed, and Yurei chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah." Yurei said sheepishly.

"You're so amazing, Yurei!" Deku said, with that dumb face he used to make when he said the same thing about Katsuki.

His eye twitched.

"Good morning, class! All of you start jogging, except for Kasai!" All Might announced, and there was a collective "aaw" from the group. "Move, move, move! You need to build that muscle to be a great hero like Kasai!"

Katsuki's eye twitched again.

He started jogging, trying to ignore the continued conversation about her.

_She's not that great._ He thought irritably.

11.

Day 24, Tuesday, 6:05 AM

Yurei was awkward as she went over to All Might, one hand scratching the back of her head, the other in her pocket.

"How is your father doing?" All Might asked, and switched to his smaller form.

"He's stable. He's not out of the woods yet, but the doctors are hopeful." Yurei said.

"Have you heard anything about who was responsible? Where the information leak was?" All Might asked.

"Everyone is pointing fingers and pissed, but no one knows anything. Chief Murei talked to my mom and I last night about it. He thinks that the League of Villains might be involved." Yurei said, and he frowned.

"Does he think it's related to Bakugou at all?" All Might asked.

"Nothing's confirmed. There have been similar things happening in agencies all over, apparently, but they were all small scale. They've tried to be quiet about it, especially until they confirm things. This thing was definitely planned beforehand, and since Bakugou and I were recruited so last minute, I doubt it had anything to do with us. It was just shit timing. I tried to get my dad to ask someone else from class to go, but when he heard Bakugou's name, his mind was set. He wanted to repay Bakugou for beating up Ikari, by giving him field experience." Yurei explained, and All Might quietly nodded.

Bakugou didn't need this heat on him.

He nearly got shot to death, thanks to her.

"Are you okay?" All Might asked.

She let out a tired sigh.

"I'm rethinking joining the H.T.S. Especially with Tuna working there…" Yurei said, and sighed again agitatedly.

There were going to be people like her wherever she went.

"Aizawa mentioned that she was giving you trouble." All Might nodded.

"I can't believe someone like her works with victims of abuse. She said a lot of dumb shit to me before the raid happened. She thinks I'm incompetent because of what happened with Ikari, and that my quirk caused it." Yurei explained.

She watched as her classmates passed by on the track.

They gave her friendly waves.

Katsuki was running laps around everyone else.

"That's extremely unprofessional of her. I'll talk to Aizawa about it." All Might said. "How are you physically? Will you be able to exercise today?"

She sighed again, and recalled what her mother said.

"My mom suggested that I take it easy for the next few days. I overextended my quirk during the raid, and she's worried that I'm not eating enough to compensate for it. During the raid I had to knock out a lot of people over a wide distance, and keep them unconscious until they were safely in custody where they couldn't hurt people." Yurei explained.

"You can sit on the sidelines for class this week. Maybe you can cheer on Bakugou." All Might suggested with a playful smile, and she tried to hide her blush.

Mina kept teasing her, accusing her of liking him.

"W-why would I do that?" Yurei asked.

"It might be fun." All Might said innocently.

"... can I cheer on other people, too?" Yurei asked.

"Sure! Even if you're unable to do something, cheering on your friends is a great show of character!" All Might said with a grin.

"Awesome!" Yurei said, and walked to the side of the track. "Deku! Move faster! Bakugou is beating you!"

"Is this a race?!" Tenya yelled in alarm.

"It is now!" All Might yelled.

"WHAT!?" Deku and the others shouted.

"Mina, get your lazy ass moving! Do you want sexy legs or not!?" Yurei yelled.

"Yes!" Mina yelled.

"THEN MOVE FASTER!" Yurei shouted.

"When did the race start!?" Eijirou asked.

"You're all losing! Go faster!" Yurei yelled. Both Deku and Tenya bolted into a sprint, using their quirks, and went past Katsuki.

"DEKU!" Katsuki screamed, and started to use his quirk to fly.

"KATSUKI, NO FLYING! You have to use your legs!" Yurei shouted at him, and he gave her a deadly glare.

"FUCK YOU, THEY'RE USING THEIR QUIRKS!" Katsuki shouted.

"Their quirks don't break the rules! No flying! You have you use your legs!" Yurei shouted.

"FUCK YOU!" Katsuki yelled, but nonetheless switched to his legs, and started screaming as he ran as fast as he could, chasing after Tenya and Deku, who already lapped him. "I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

"Denki, Mineta, what the fuck are you doing!? Move faster!" Yurei shouted at them, causing them to jump in alarm and start running faster. "Tsu, Ochaco! You two are doing great!"

"Thanks!" Tsu and Ochaco huffed with a weak smile.

"If you want to be great heroes, you have to build your leg muscles! Keep going!" All Might cheered, briefly shifting to his bigger form.

"Mineta, your quirk is cheating! Get your shit off of the fucking ground before you hurt someone!" Yurei shouted at him. "Toru, your new goal is to beat Mina! Do you want sexy legs or not!?"

"I WILL GET THOSE SEXY LEGS!" Mina and Toru shouted as they started racing each other.

"Yurei, who's winning!?" Tsu asked.

"I'll tell you when it's done!" Yurei replied, and laughed at the chaos she'd caused. "Eijirou! Are you really going to let Katsuki beat you!? Mina will laugh at you if you lose!"

Eijirou's eyes widened in panic, and he bolted into a sprint. Mashirao was close behind.

"You're a great motivator, Kasai!" All Might said with a thumbs up.

"Thanks!"

12.

Day 24, Tuesday, 10:00 AM

When she got to class, all of her classmates from training gave her scathing glares.

They looked exhausted.

She deserved every single one of them.

When Katsuki got there, he especially gave her a death glare, and sat down with a loud grunt. He shifted in his seat to face her, and continue glaring at her.

"You were using my rivalry with Deku to trick me into running faster." Katsuki stated with a glare.

"It works when you're drunk. I was surprised by how well it works when you're sober." Yurei said, and his glare hardened. "You could have just ignored me, you know."

His eyes were slits.

"Careful, glare at me too hard and you won't be able to see me anymore." Yurei said.

"Why the hell weren't you running today, anyway?" Katsuki asked.

"I overexerted my quirk the other night. Sometimes if I exercise a lot and use my quirk, it can be a bit too much for me. Next week I'll be back to normal, and I'm sure everyone in class will start screaming at me to run my legs off." Yurei said.

Katsuki's demeanor fell slightly, and he got more anxious.

"Are you okay? We haven't talked since that happened." Yurei asked.

"I'm fine." He said, and turned around in his spot.

"If you want to talk about it, let me know. I-"

"I'm fine." He repeated curtly.

"If you change your mind-"

"I won't."

Yurei bit the inside of her cheek, staring at the back of his head. She still felt guilty for recommending him for the mission.

He was in the car when Tomo died.

_Tomo._

Her heart clenched.

She'd known him since she was a kid.

"My legs are in so much pain." Hanta complained nearby, and she looked up, forgetting she was in class.

_Tomo._

"Are you okay?" Hanta asked, stopping to look at her. He slipped into his usual seat, cringing in pain.

"... I'll be back." Yurei said, and hurried out of the classroom, past the other students. She went to the bathroom, and hid in one of the stalls.

She squeezed her eyes shut, shuddering out a breath, and felt a wave of sadness wash over her.

Kiken wasn't doing great, either. He hit his head pretty hard in the van.

A lot of people she knew died. She hadn't known them very well, but… she did know them. They were good people.

Tears started falling, and she did her best to not make sounds. She didn't want to bother anyone.

She took deep breaths, trying to let the feelings pass on so that she could get back to class.

13.

Day 24, Tuesday, 10:20 AM

As class went on, Katsuki kept glancing at the door.

Yurei had been gone for a while, now. She seemed fine before.

He was pretty sure that he didn't say anything offensive.

"Where did Yurei go?" Mashirao whispered to Hanta.

"She looked like she was going to cry when I got here. She's probably just worried about her dad." Hanta whispered back.

"I still can't believe it happened. Seeing your dad get shot… like, I don't know what I'd do if that happened to me." Mashirao whispered.

Katsuki bit the inside of his cheek, and passively listened to the teacher give a lecture on heroes thirty years ago. Usually, he enjoyed this class, but it was hard for him to focus.

He should have done more to protect them.

Something.

Anything.

All he did was hide, while other people got shot in the fucking head.

His stomach churned at the memory.

That person dropped, like a sack of potatoes.

He just fell.

The mechanical pencil in his hand broke, and he passively glared at it.

_Just like their skulls._

He took a deep breath, and reached into his bag, looking for another one.

14.

Day 24, Tuesday, 4:00 PM

"Go home."

Those words stung.

Yurei froze in her seat, looking up at her supervisor, and felt mortified.

She'd been slow.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" Yurei started to apologize, but she shook her head.

"It's okay. Just go home and get some rest. I'll get your shift tomorrow covered, too."

Yurei did her best to not cry. She was being sent home barely an hour into her shift.

"I can get Mirio to-"

"No." Yurei said, and reached under the desk for her backpack. She silently logged out of the computer, grabbed her notebook, and left. She was careful not to look at her supervisor again, at risk of crying.

She just couldn't stop thinking about Tomo.

She'd never had to perform first aid on someone without someone else to guide and tell her what to do. Those injuries had never been that serious, either.

Yurei had to check their pulses in the van.

Decide to focus on Kiken and her father, since Tomo was dead.

She'd had to focus on Kiken and her father.

She kept her head down as she walked, and quietly used her keycard on the door to the dorms.

First time didn't work.

Second time didn't, either.

Third time didn't, either.

Fourth time did.

As she walked by the lounge, going for the stairs, she jumped at the loud sounds that erupted from the living room. Her classmates from that morning shouted her name, jokingly calling her a terrible person for yelling at them, and that come next class, they were gunning for her.

She didn't acknowledge them, instead, hurrying to her room.

15.

Day 24, Tuesday, 4:20 PM

Katsuki had watched her hurry up the steps, and wondered what was up with her.

"She knows we were joking, right?" Hanta asked awkwardly.

"She's supposed to be at work right now. I wonder if they sent her home." Mina said with a frown.

"She left our history class before it started, and didn't come back until everyone was leaving. She looked like she'd been crying." Mashirao added sympathetically.

That person's skull crushed like a tin can.

Yurei's father had bled a lot.

He remembered Yurei's shaking, bloody hands as she tried to apply basic first aid until help arrived.

"Shit, even Bakugou is shaken after what happened." Eijirou said, and Katsuki looked up, sending him a glare. A lot of people had stopped to look at him.

"The fuck are you staring at?" Katsuki asked.

"You were just staring at your soda, not saying anything, with a weird look on your face." Eijirou told him.

"I'm just tired. Blue Hair Girl wrecked my legs this morning from all her damn yelling." Katsuki covered easily.

"Are you sure you're okay, Bakugou? What all did you see at the raid?" Mina asked.

"None of your fucking business. I'm going to my room, you nerds." Katsuki said as he moved to stand, and quickly left.

As he walked up the stairs to the boys half of the building, he realized that his dumb hand was shaking.

16.

Day 24, Tuesday, 11:45 PM

That night, Yurei was grateful that so many people went to bed early. They were tired from that morning.

The kitchen was empty, to her fortune. As much as she appreciated Mina and Eijirou comforting her, she just wanted to be alone in her misery. She'd had a little bit of vodka after they left her room.

She wasn't drunk, just tipsy. Tipsy allowed her attention to stray to different topics, and not entirely focus on what her mind kept clinging to, while having the benefit of not being drunk.

As she perused the cupboards and fridge, she was glad to find that shopping had been done recently. Unfortunately, she was feeling picky about what she wanted to eat.

She didn't want to eat anything, but she needed to eat something, to prevent a repeat of the other week.

She didn't need Mirio or her mother being even more worried about her.

Her mother was at her father's bedside, watching over him.

When she heard someone enter the kitchen, she looked up, surprised to see Katsuki enter.

They ran into each other a lot, it seemed.

Both of them paused, just staring at each other for a moment, and they seemed to silently confirm that they other had been thinking about the raid.

Yurei opened the fridge again, and let out a tired sigh as she searched for food. Cold air washed over her, cooling her warm face.

"Hanta took notes for you." Katsuki said, and she looked over at him, confused. "History class. You know, the one you skipped, like a loser."

Her heart fell at that.

She fucked up a lot that day.

The only thing she did right was screaming at her classmates to run faster.

"Yeah. I'm just fucking up all over the fucking place." Yurei muttered, and leaned her forehead against the side of the fridge door.

Nothing looked appetizing.

"What are you going to eat?" Yurei asked.

"... I don't know." Katsuki replied.

"Do you want to split a pizza?" Yurei asked.

"Are we going to split it, or are you going to eat all of it?" He asked.

"We'll split it. I don't have an appetite right now, but I should eat. Nothing sounds good." Yurei said, and shut the door. "My mom gave me extra food money, too."

They both stood there for a moment, quiet, and basking in the heavy tension in the air.

He still felt guilty and anxious.

They felt pretty similar, actually.

"You make the call, and I'll pay for it." Yurei told him.

"I make the call, we split it." Katsuki corrected.

"Fine." Yurei agreed.

They both walked to the lounge, and sat next to each other as Katsuki made the call. Yurei shifted to put her feet on the table, and rested against him slightly, enjoying the contact.

"Had you seen dead bodies before that?" Yurei asked.

"... no." He answered quietly.

She'd never heard his voice sound so soft.

"The way that bullet went through their heads was crazy. Those bullets went through the fucking van." Katsuki spoke. "Their skulls, they just… broke, so easily."

"Applying first aid to my dad and Kiken was terrifying." Yurei said softly.

"You didn't hesitate. Not even a little." Katsuki said, and his hand clenched, digging into his thigh.

"Because I knew that if I did, people could die. If I dwelled on that idea, if I hesitate, then I'd get scared, and my quirks would stop working. I couldn't afford to let that happen." Yurei said.

"Your quirk doesn't work if you're scared?" Katsuki asked.

"If I'm too scared, I freeze up, and can't use them. If I'm startled I can, just… not real fear." Yurei explained.

"Did your dad know that when he asked you to go?" Katsuki asked.

"No."

There was a long pause.

Just thinking about what happened.

"I'd known Tomo my entire life, pretty much. Seeing him that way, just… that's why I left history. I realized he was dead. Like… really dead." Yurei said.

"I broke my stupid pencil, thinking about that guy getting shot in the head. I keep thinking about the way he fell." Katsuki said.

"How did he fall?" Yurei asked.

"Like a sack of potatoes. His body just… fell. Like an ordinary thing. It just… he fell, like… he was just a body, not a person." Katsuki said.

"I tried not to focus on the people getting shot. I focused on going after the people shooting them. I still don't know the full death count, of who died and who lived. I'm scared to find out." Yurei admitted.

"If your dad wants heroes for his department again, tell him to call me." Katsuki suddenly said, and she gave him a weird look.

"What? After this, you want to work with them?" Yurei asked.

"Last time I did an internship, the asshole I worked with just shoved me into jeans and tried to teach me about 'how to be a real hero', and shit. I was bored out of my skull. This time, though, I learned something new. I was pit against real enemies." Katsuki said with a strange expression on his face.

He was… excited?

"So… you're excited by all the violence." Yurei said, her voice falling flat as she gave him a deadpan look.

"Fuck yeah. Next time, I'll be more prepared. I know what I need to work on." Katsuki said, ignoring her tone, and she rolled her eyes.

"You're even more insane than I thought, Katsuki." Yurei said, and he gave her a bewildered look.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki asked.

"You get excited by the idea of people getting shot in the head." Yurei told him.

"No, I'm excited at the idea of killing the guys shooting people in the head. Big difference." Katsuki corrected with a serious face.

"Your response to seeing people die is effectively 'I can't want to kick the ass of whoever killed you'." Yurei summarized.

"Isn't that what being a hero is?" Katsuki asked.

"Being a hero is wanting to help people." Yurei said.

"By beating people up. If you just wanted to help people, you'd be a fucking doctor, or something." Katsuki argued.

"... that doesn't make your earlier response less weird." Yurei argued.

"At least I'm not crying and skipping out on work over it." Katsuki argued.

She grunted, and turned away, giving him that win.

17.

Day 25, Wednesday, 8:45 AM

"I still don't think you appreciate just how insane that is, Katsuki." Yurei argued him again, this time, in class the next morning.

"Being a hero is about beating people up." Katsuki argued.

"Being a hero is beating people up to save people." Yurei said.

"That's what I'm saying." Katsuki said.

"No, your version of hero doesn't do 'I'll beat this person up to protect someone else', your version is 'this person beat someone up, so now I get the excuse to hit them', which leaves out the helping people part." Yurei said.

"But that keeps them from beating other people up." Katsuki argued.

"Your reason for beating people up matters when it comes to being a hero, Katsuki." Yurei said.

"Forget it, Yurei, Katsuki is hopeless." Eijirou interrupted, and patted Katsuki's head. "All he sees are people to beat up, and people to potentially beat up."

"Fuck off, we weren't talking to you." Katsuki glared.

"But do you at least understand the point I'm trying to make, Katsuki?" Yurei asked him.

"Yeah, and I think it's bullshit." Katsuki replied.

"You are fucking psychotic." Yurei told him.

"Have you told your dad yet?" Katsuki asked.

"He's still recovering from getting shot. I'm going to wait a few days, at least." Yurei replied.

"When do you think the next raid will be?" Katsuki asked.

"If there is another one, what makes you think they'll want a freshman college student there?" Yurei asked.

"Because last time a 'freshman college student' was the only reason any of them survived." Katsuki countered, and she huffed in aggravation.

"Are you hoping to do another raid?" Eijirou asked Katsuki.

"Of course I am. This time, those assholes won't know what hit them." Katsuki replied with a cocky smirk.

"Yurei is right, you are insane." Eijirou said.

18.

Day 25, Wednesday, 6:00 PM

That evening, Yurei and Mirio went to see her dad.

He was awake and talking. Not talking much, but, enough.

When they got there, a bunch of officers were leaving. When they saw Yurei, and recognized her, they stopped to give their condolences, and told her how amazing she'd been on the field. Reidi was one of them.

"How is that boy, Bakugou, doing?" Reidi asked.

"He's doing great. He wants to go on another raid." Yurei replied, and they all burst into laughter.

Hearing them laugh made her crack a smile.

"Well, he could be doing worse. He's a bit of a danger magnet, isn't he?" Reidi asked.

"He likes blowing stuff up and anything that leads him to blowing up more stuff." Yurei said, and they started laughing again.

"Well, we need to get going, but it was great to see you. Thank you so much. My daughter still has a father because of you." Reidi said, and pulled her in for a hug.

The other guys bowed to her, saying similar things, and then left.

She felt a bit… unnerved, by the gravity in their voices.

"You did a good job, cuz." Mirio told her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

She let out a shaky breath, and started walking again. When she got to her father's room, she paused by the doorway, momentarily stunned by the sight.

Seeing him bandaged, in the hospital gown, in such a… sterile place, in such a weak position… it was weird to see him this way.

In all his years on the force, he'd never gotten shot. He was usually the one calling the shots, not getting in the line of fire.

"Hey uncle, how are you feeling?" Mirio asked as he came inside, not missing a beat, and gave Yurei's mom a hug.

Yurei took a shaky breath and got closer, giving her father a weak smile.

"I hear that you're the one to thank for me still being alive." Her father said.

"... it was a team effort." Yurei said.

"Not from what I heard." Her father said, and as she looked into his eyes, could see pride in them. "You did a good job. Thank you, Yurei."

"What were you laughing about out there?" Her mom asked, and Yurei was grateful for the distraction. She remembered finding her father's body, bloody and contorted in that van, a little too vividly.

"Yu Yu was telling them about Bakugou's reaction to what happened." Mirio answered with a smile.

"Oh no, how is he? He wasn't hurt, was he?" Her father asked, and turned to Yurei.

"He didn't get so much as a scratch. He wants to go on another raid so that he can beat them up this time." Yurei said.

Her father chuckled, and coughed, cringing in pain.

Her mother rushed forward, tending to him, and Yurei took a step back, closer to Mirio.

After a while of coughing, he assured her mother that he was fine, and finished clearing his throat.

"I'm glad that he's so interested in the department. I think you and Bakugou would be great partners. Your quirks and fighting styles are very complementary to each other." Her dad said.

_His quirk is flashy, mine isn't._

"I'd also feel better if, when you work with us, you have another permanent hero working with you. If something happened to you while you were using your quirk, he would be able to cover you better than anyone on those SWAT teams, or me or the other detectives." Her father added.

"So long as you point him in the right direction, he's a pretty good cannonball." Mirio added cheerily.

"Does that mean that I have to point him?" Yurei asked.

"No, it means you're the cannon. Uncle is the one pointing you in the right direction." Mirio said, and she frowned.

"You can be the cannonball team." Her father said with a smile.

"Definitely not." Yurei said immediately. Mirio and her mother burst into laughter, and her father's smile widened.

Having a few classes with Katsuki was one thing, but being work partners with him for potentially years?


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the faves, follows, and reviews! It really brightens my day to get the notifications from y'all. :3 I hope everyone has a spooky, but fun, Halloween this year~

**Chapter 5**

_Peer Pressure_

Day 26, Thursday, 6:00 AM

To Yurei's surprise, at training the next day, they weren't going to do any exercises.

Their class gathered around All Might, shivering in the cold, and aptly listened to their teacher.

"Today, I'm announcing a project that we'll be doing on Tuesday. You're going to be paired up with another person in this class and work with them to accomplish a task. I've prepared envelopes for every pair in the class. None of you are allowed to read anyone else's instructions, and if you do, that's an automatic failure for the project." All Might said, and upon the last part, most of their classmates tensed.

"Your envelope will tell you what you'll be doing, and what your goal is. Some of you will be playing heroes, some of you villains, and then we'll be having hired actors to work with you. We'll be playing out the scenario at the training area on the edge of campus, the one with all the buildings and terrain. When you arrive to class on Tuesday, you'll need to have all of your gear with you, and be ready to go. I'll announce teams now." All Might announced.

_Anyone but Katsuki or Hana. Literally, anyone else. I'd rather work with Mineta than either of those._ Yurei thought with a frown.

"Aoyama, you will be paired with Ashido." All Might started, and started listing off all the pairs.

To her relief, Hana was paired with someone else.

"Kasai with Bakugou."

_Fuck._ Yurei mentally cursed, and watched as Katsuki went up to get their envelope.

Their class started to disperse, going to different locations to open and read their envelopes.

She tensed slightly as Katsuki approached her, his red eyes strangely intimidating this morning. He stalked towards her, like a lion preparing to attack their prey.

"You like coffee, right?" Katsuki asked.

"... yeah?" Yurei replied.

"Let's go to that dumb coffee place down the street and read the assignment." Katsuki suggested.

"... alright." Yurei said, and started walking with him.

Once they got to the coffee place, she got her cup, and sat with him in the corner, on one of the curved couches. They were the only ones staying to sit, while others simply grabbed their drinks and left.

Yurei had initially hoped to keep a little distance between them, but then he scooted closer to her, so that their knees touched. She was sitting sideways, with her legs curled on the couch and bright green ceramic mug in her hands, and his move brought him a lot closer. Their arms were touching, now.

He opened the envelope, and pulled out the papers.

She turned her attention to the papers, and started reading their brief. He seemed to skim the front summary, and then looked at the next few pages, which had detailed maps of the area with routes highlighted. There were even pages with details about the other people in the class, even fitted with photoshopped images of them to look more like their part.

"So that's why All Might had us fight the other week." Yurei surmised. Katsuki looked into the envelope again, and pulled out a second packet. He set that one on her lap, checked that there was nothing else in the envelope, and went back to reading.

Yurei took another sip of her warm beverage, set her mug on the table, and then leaned back, but got a few inches between them.

He scooted closer to her again.

She wondered if he was doing that on purpose.

Deciding to ignore him, she went back to the packet. As she went through the brief, she was pretty impressed by the thought and care that went into it. She guessed that a lot of their teachers collaborated to create it.

"We have to wear costumes." Yurei commented.

"What?" Katsuki asked, and she pointed to the bullet point.

"'Pictures of uniforms on page three.'" Yurei read, and Katsuki went to that page. She was relieved to see that it was simply a formal suit, for both of them. Nothing extreme.

"So we're escorting the prince of Wakanda to a meeting across town, and have to keep him alive… in this." Katsuki said, and went back to the front page.

"That's not too bad." Yurei said.

"I can't do long range without my grenades." Katsuki said.

"They probably covered that in this." Yurei said.

"Our heads will be exposed." Katsuki said.

"Helmets aren't uniform in situations like this." Yurei reminded him.

"They should be. A sniper could kill him with one shot." Katsuki replied.

"Snipers are probably covered in this. Kyoka might be on our secret service team." Yurei suggested. When he didn't respond, she looked over at him, finding that he seemed to be staring off into space. His eyes were a little wider than usual, trained on the page in front of him, but he didn't seem to be reading it.

"Katsuki?" Yurei asked.

No response.

"Katsuki?"

She nudged his temple with her pointer finger, and he looked up. "Hn?"

"You were spacing out about snipers. Don't worry, my quirk is better than a helmet. I can make one other person phase with me at a time. If there's gun fire, I can make you incorporeal, so that all bullets go through you." Yurei explained.

He still seemed a bit dazed.

"This is just a homework assignment, Katsuki. Nothing to stress about. Any guns at this will just have paint pellets in them." Yurei assured.

He went back to reading the packet.

For a while, they both quietly read through the extremely detailed assignment. When Yurei got to Yuga and Mina, she started to laugh. They were known assassins that were going to make an attempt on their prince's life, and they were known to be a romantic item. Presumably, they would have to act like they were dating.

"Eijirou won't be happy about that." Katsuki commented with a dry chuckle, and then smirked. "I'm going to give him so much shit for that."

"I wonder who Eijirou is…." Yurei wondered, and looked around, eventually finding his picture. He would be on their side, protecting the prince. "All Might pit them against each other. Interesting."

"Mina and Yuga probably aren't the only assassins. Not all of our classmates are listed." Katsuki said.

"So when we see them, we won't know if they're playing a friend or an enemy. Presumably, the prince will have his own guards helping him." Yurei commented.

"They might even slip in other heroes we don't know about." Katsuki added with a frown.

"This project is pretty elaborate. Should be fun." Yurei commented.

Katsuki let out a tired sigh.

"What?" Yurei asked.

"There's just a lot of elements to this. Usually, training class isn't this complex. We usually just show up and do the assignment. This time, we have almost a week to learn our roles. I don't see the point." Katsuki commented.

"Most situations are pretty complicated. They're not as easy as simply showing up and punching someone. Especially with the H.T.S., there's a fair amount of research involved." Yurei explained.

"Did you tell your dad yet?" Katsuki asked.

"... yeah." Yurei said.

"What did he say?" He asked.

"... he was thrilled. He thinks that we'd be great work partners." Yurei answered.

"Sweet." He replied, and he seemed genuinely happy about that.

She so rarely felt him happy about something.

"One of the downsides to the position is that we won't have a hero to train us, or offer advice. They've been without a long term hero for a while, so we'd have to learn as we go along." Yurei added.

"Less rules to follow." Katsuki said with a smirk.

She thought back to the way he talked about the helmets, and wondered how much that would affect him in the future.

1.

Day 26, Thursday, 9:00 PM

That night, Yurei and her group of friends went out dancing.

To her slight dismay, Katsuki was with their group. Unlike last time, they didn't get a couch area, but instead gathered around some tall tables and took lots of shots.

Yurei was enjoying the feeling of alcohol that night. She liked being numb, happy, and distracted for a while. Her emotions quirk didn't work as well when she was intoxicated, especially drunk, so she could barely sense the people around her. Her chest and cheeks were hot, a smile bubbling to her face, and she loved the music.

2.

Day 26, Thursday, 9:00 PM

Katsuki didn't drink that much that night.

He wanted to keep an eye on Yurei, who was taking enough shots for the both of them. She did a lot of dancing with Mina and Eijirou; sometimes they danced in a triangle formation, doing silly and cheesy dance moves, sometimes they had Mina sandwiched in the middle, and sometimes Yurei was in the middle. They were lost in the mosh pit of terrible dancers with zero rhythm, and Katsuki hated having to watch it.

Katsuki especially hated, though, when Yurei was in the middle, sandwiched between the promiscuous couple making bedroom eyes at each other. Eijirou was starting to like Yurei a little too much, getting more and more bold where his hands explored her soft skin.

Like now, Mina and Eijirou were playing some sort of game with each other, where they would kiss and caress Yurei while staring intensely at each other. Meanwhile, Yurei would drunkenly lean against Eijirou, her eyes closed, holding Mina while facing the ceiling. The back of her head rested against Eijirou's shoulder, her features relaxed, body occasionally moving to the music. She seemed oblivious to the way that Mina and Eijirou looked at each other, lost in her own drunkenness, and oblivious to Eijirou's hands on her waist.

Katsuki was ready to intervene. He wanted to repay his debt to her: she saved him from being molested while intoxicated, so he was ready to return the favor. If Eijirou got a little too handsy, reaching for specific areas, Katsuki was ready to grab Yurei and leave. For the most part, Eijirou's hands lingered on her waist and arms, occasionally pecking her cheek in a lingering kiss, never looking away from Mina's heated gaze.

"Instead pining over her, why don't you dance with me?" Someone whispered in Katsuki's ear, and pressed their small breasts against his arm. He turned his head from the obnoxious mosh pit of writhing bodies, andlooked into a pair of sparkling purple eyes and glittery cheeks. He didn't know her by name, but she was one of his classmates.

"I don't dance." Katsuki replied.

"Come on, Katsuki!" Denki cried drunkenly from across the table, nearly falling out of his seat. "Just try it! One dance!"

"One dance." Purple Eyes said, and batted her eyelashes at him.

… _it is just dancing, and I am bored watching Yurei…._ A part of him was just a little curious about the appeal, too.

Katsuki let himself be dragged into the mosh pit, where there was little to no room. They made a small space for themselves, then, purple eyes turned, and pressed her back flush against his torso. She took his hands, guiding one of them to her right breast, and the other to her hip. He groaned as she grinded against him, moving her hips to the music, and the temperature seemed to rise an extra ten degrees.

This was the first time he'd touched a woman's breast.

It was… squishy. Like a stress ball. Not unpleasant to touch.

He gave her breast a tentative squeeze. She arched her back into his touch, hung her head against his shoulder, and reached up, tangling her fingers into his hair. Her long nails gently scraped along his scalp, sending tingles through his head.

Someone bumped into them, and he looked over, seeing that a girl was trying to escape a guy's arms. He was gripping her tight, trying to keep her against him, but she struggled. Then, some other guy came over and punched him in the face, freeing the frightened girl.

Purple Eyes tightened her grip on his hair, turning his head towards her, and angled them for a sloppy kiss. Katsuki went along with it, not entirely disliking the scenario playing out. She was warm, her breast felt nice in his hand, and her hips were creating a pleasant friction against his pants.

_So this is why guys like this so much._ He thought in the back of his mind.

As their kiss ended, he lingered by her face, breathing hard. His head felt fuzzy, and it was so warm, he was tempted to take his shirt off. There were a couple other guys on the dancefloor shirtless, so it wouldn't be entirely weird.

_Not sure why girls do this, though. Rubbing their butts on boners doesn't seem nice at all._ He thought, and frowned at the mental image of himself dancing with a guy.

Purple Eyes suddenly ground into him more aggressively, startling him, and he shifted his hands to her hips, stopping the harsh movement. He happened to look around, and accidentally locked eyes with Yurei.

Her eyes were wide in horror, frozen in place as if she'd just seen a ghost.

She was still sandwiched between Mina and Eijirou, who seemed oblivious to her expression as they continued their game.

Katsuki tensed, trying to figure out why she would freeze like that, and stare at him with such a mortified expression. He felt like he'd been caught doing something wrong, but he wasn't sure what.

He jumped, feeling Purple Eyes moving against him again, and the grip on his head tightened almost painfully, trying to pull him back for a kiss. She wasn't strong enough to pull him back down, and he was too distracted by Yurei's terrified expression.

But then, people got in his way, blocking his line of sight to Yurei.

Purple Eyes suddenly turned, facing him, and started kissing his neck. As he strained his neck to find Yurei again, his eyes widened when Purple Eyes aggressively palmed the front of his pants.

"Stop." Katsuki said absently, shoving her away as he moved into the thrashing bodies, searching for Yurei. He found Mina and Eijirou, dry humping and close to having sex on the dancefloor, but no Yurei.

He turned, looking around him at the plethora of bodies, searching for her.

_She'd been grinding on Eijirou's dick._ Katsuki realized with a frown, and thought about kicking his ass.

His hands turned to fists, clenching and then unclenching, palms sparking softly. He'd never actually thought that hard about what "dancing" Yurei was doing.

"Shit." He cursed, still unable to find her, and went back to their group table.

To his surprise, Yurei was there, taking another shot. Her tiny blue skirt was riding up and her shirt low, revealing much more of her breasts than in the beginning of the night. Her lithe and weak body swayed slightly, her hazel eyes glazed over, and there was light pink lip gloss smeared on her face.

Katsuki tugged the hem her skirt down, so that she wasn't flashing her bright neon pink underwear anymore.

"Ruining the sight for the rest of us, asshole?" Some guy asked as he came over, and Katsuki recognized him as the one that attacked that one girl.

"Fuck off." Katsuki told him.

"She yours or something?" He sneered, and was about to reach for Yurei, when Katsuki stepped between them.

Katsuki shoved him back, hard. He seemed to get the message, waving him off, and went to another table. Katsuki turned back, and realized that Denki was sitting across from Yurei, openly gawking at her breasts. Yurei seemed completely unaware, just staring at her empty shot glass with a pout.

"Fix your damn shirt." Katsuki growled in her ear, and she abruptly looked up at him.

She'd been crying. Her make up was running down her face, cheeks wet, and eyes were bloodshot.

She didn't respond to what he said, just stared at him.

Denki was still gawking at her, his mouth open like an idiot and drool forming along the side of his chin.

Katsuki took Yurei's shoulders, turning her towards him, and tugged at her shirt line, pulling it up. She drunkenly looked down, watching him work, and he managed to get her close to what she was like at the beginning of the night.

She tried to say something, but he couldn't hear her over the music. He leaned in so that she could repeat herself.

"Are you fucking Hana, now?" Yurei shouted.

"Who the fuck is Hana?" He asked.

"The bitch you were d-dancing with." She stuttered, and when he looked at her face again, saw that she was crying again. Katsuki suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, and turned, finding Purple Eyes there. When he faced her, she tried to kiss him.

Instead, he reached up, bringing his hand over her face, and pushed her back. The small girl glared and pouted, looking between them, but then smirked at Yurei.

Katsuki looked at Yurei again, and saw that she was starting to hyperventilate.

_Women._ Katsuki thought with an irritated twitch of his eye.

"You're too drunk. Let's get you home." Katsuki told her.

"N-n-n-no, I-I want to d-dance." Yurei stuttered pitifully.

"You want to dance on Eijirou's dick again?" Katsuki snapped.

That seemed to make the crying worsen.

His eye twitched again. He regretted coming here.

He didn't know how she put up with him when he started crying while drunk.

She started whining about something incoherent, and he couldn't understand her anymore.

_I could just drag her out._ He thought irritably, but that would rightfully get a lot of weird looks if he knocked her out and carried her out of here. Katsuki was callous and rough, but he knew better than that. Not to mention all the shit his classmates would give him, should any of them see them leave like that.

"You still want to dance?" Katsuki asked as he leaned forward, and she nodded.

He wasn't going to let her dance with Denki or that other creep. _Definitely not Eijirou._

Katsuki took her hand, taking her into the dancing area, and found them a small space. He put his hands on her waist, keeping her steady (especially in those heels), and let her cry into his chest. Her hands were balled up into fists, and her body trembled against him. They didn't really move much, except for the occasional jostle from a drunk dancer bumping into them. As they danced, Katsuki let out a tired sigh, and looked around. To his horror, he found some things that he couldn't unsee.

Shouto and Momo were doing it. Her leg was around his waist, blocking some of what was happening, but not enough.

Katsuki looked away, only to find Mina and Eijirou doing the same.

Then, saw Deku and Ochaco lip-locked and on their way.

Even Mashirao had some random girl with her skirt up.

Hanta was on his way there with someone else.

Katsuki glared down at the girl in his arms.

_I hate this place. I hate all of you. I'm going to kill all of you tomorrow._ Katsuki thought angrily, grinding his teeth as he growled low and tried not to murder everyone right then.

3.

Day 27, Friday, 11:15 AM

The next morning, after class, Yurei tiredly dragged herself back to the dorms. She wasn't too surprised to find the previously passed out people in the lounge now nursing coffee for their hangovers.

A lot of people missed class, and Aizawa hadn't been happy about the lack of attendance and abundance of hangovers. Katsuki seemed to be the only one who didn't do heavy drinking last night.

He was always the winner, after all.

Mina groaned on the couch, sitting sideways with her back against Eijirou's matching hungover form. Their hair was a mess, bags hung from their eyes, and they kept grunting and groaning.

"YOU'RE ALL DISGUSTING!" Katsuki suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, and everyone cringed, some falling over from the loud sound.

"Katsuki, keep it down." Mina requested, and barely got her coffee cup to the table before flopping onto the floor at an awkward angle. Yurei started to move towards the kitchen, to get more coffee and away from the loud monster seeming bent on giving hell to their classmates.

"YOU'RE ALL TERRIBLE AND DISGUSTING! ALL OF YOU!" Katsuki yelled, somehow louder.

Yurei groaned with the others, and turned off the light in the kitchen, to help with her sensitive eyes. She poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot, and added her usual cream and sugar.

"What are you talking about?" Denki groaned.

"I SAW YOU, YOU, YOU , YOU- ALL OF YOU- HAVING SEX LAST NIGHT, AND IT WAS DISGUSTING!" Katsuki screamed.

If he wasn't worsening her headache, she'd laugh.

"I didn't have sex!" Deku cried out in alarm.

"Did I black out and have sex with someone!?" Denki asked.

"No, but you tried, and it was disgusting, you pervert!" Katsuki yelled.

"Katsukiiiii, stop screamiiiiing." Yurei whined from the kitchen.

"And how many people did you fuck last night!?" Katsuki screamed at her.

"No one, I just danced." Yurei said, sipping her drink as she went to the doorway between the dining room and lounge. She leaned against the frame, not wanting to get any closer to the yelling blonde.

"So you were just dancing on Eijirou's dick?" Katsuki asked with narrowed eyes.

"Eijirou's dick did not leave his pants when I was dancing with him and Mina. I don't dance to have sex, I dance to have fun, and unfortunately, Mina is the only girl that will dance with me." Yurei said tiredly.

"So you've never had sex on the dancefloor?" Katsuki asked skeptically.

"I have never had sex on the dancefloor, and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon." Yurei said, and after a moment, he seemed to accept that.

"ALL OF YOU ASSHOLES ARE STILL DISGUSTING!" Katsuki screamed as he started pointing fingers again.

Apparently, a lot of people got lucky last night.

"Katsuki, did you really not realize what people were doing at those clubs?" Denki asked.

There was an awkward pause.

"Not everyone goes dancing to get laid. I actually prefer when people aren't having sex on the dancefloor. That's unsafe and gross." Yurei said, and frowned at the mental imagery of someone else's _things_ accidentally touching her.

She would need another shower.

"You're all disgusting." Katsuki repeated, still unable to process last night.

"You weren't complaining when you were dancing with me, Ka-chan." Hana said in a sweet voice, and Yurei suddenly remembered seeing them together. Her stomach threatened to do flips.

"And you've never been this weird when we talk about this shit around you." Eijirou added.

"Everyone in this dorm is disgusting pretty much all the time." Yurei added, and tried to shake off the nausea threatening to take hold.

Then, Eijirou turned to her, and his eyes widened in alarm. He jumped back on the couch, bumping into the wall, and looking horrified.

"YOU CAN SENSE THAT!?" Eijirou suddenly screamed.

Then, Mineta, who had been hiding in the shadows, jumped up in excitement. "YOU HAVE YOUR MOM'S QUIRK! YOU HAVE THE BONER QUIRK!" Mineta screamed while shouting at her.

"OH GOD, I AM SO SORRY!" Eijirou yelled, his face beat red, matching his hair.

Yurei's eye twitched as she glared at them.

"You have a boner quirk?" Mina asked.

Hana was cracking up laughing.

Yurei's eye twitched again.

"Do you want me to demonstrate my quirk on you, Mineta?" Yurei asked in a low, dangerous voice.

His eyes widened.

She could sense his arousal.

"That's sexual harassment!" Mineta suddenly yelled.

She set her coffee on the counter next to her, and he tensed.

Katsuki seemed to panic.

Yurei moved quickly, gliding across the floor, and kicked Mineta in the face with her bare foot.

Mineta started screaming in fear, scrambling to get away from her, and hid in the corner, still screaming.

Then, she deactivated her quirk.

He trembled in a ball in the corner, crying.

"I can make people feel whatever I want, not just boners. And yes, I can sense when you assholes are aroused, Eijirou. All of you are disgusting. The only thing that'll block that out sometimes is Katsuki, because his emotions are louder than most of yours." Yurei explained.

Most of them just stared and blinked at her, absorbing her words.

_I went a while without them finding out, at least._

"Why the hell are you so overpowered, Yurei? That's ridiculous." Mina whined, and rested her forehead on the table, groaning.

"... but you can also give people boners, like your mom?" Denki asked.

This time, it was Katsuki who stepped in, kicking him in the face.

"YOU'RE ALL DISGUSTING! GO LIE IN A HOLE AND DIE!" Katsuki shouted at him.

4.

Day 27, Friday, 3:00 PM

When Katsuki went to the gym with Eijirou and the others, he was extra loud in the locker room.

He slammed lockers.

He threw his duffle bag onto the bench as loud as he could, and then slammed other people's lockers shut.

"Why the hell are you so pissy today?" Hanta groaned.

"Because you're all DISGUSTING!" Katsuki shouted, and they all covered their ears as his voice echoed.

"You're just jealous that Eijirou danced with Yurei, aren't you?" Mashirao said with a glare.

"What the hell are you dancing with Blue Hair Girl for when you have a girlfriend?" Katsuki snapped at Eijirou with a glare.

"Mina likes to dance with her, Yurei likes dancing with Mina, and I like Mina. Yurei is just fun to party with." Eijirou said groggily, still recovering from his rough morning.

"Didn't I see you dancing with Yurei at one point?" Hanta asked.

"She was drunk and crying. She wanted to dance, so to make her shut up, I danced with her." Katsuki explained agitatedly.

"Why was Yurei crying?" Eijirou asked.

"Fuck if I know. She was completely wasted, like the rest of you assholes." Katsuki said, opened his locker, and slammed it again, just to make them wince in pain.

"Wait, hold on," Hanta said, pausing. "You saw Yurei crying, so instead of hitting or yelling at her to stop, you danced with her?"

"I was paying her back, shit head. She looked after me when I got wasted, so I made sure none of you assholes took advantage of her. It's not like I could have knocked her out and dragged her out of there without people freaking out." Katsuki explained.

"So you danced with her." Eijirou said with a dumb smile.

"That's actually really sweet, Bakugou." Mashirao said.

All of them cringed in pain as he slammed the locker again.

5.

Day 27, Friday, 3:00 PM

Mina giggled and laughed hysterically on Yurei's bed. She was excited to go out again that night. This time, though, they weren't going out as a large group. They were doing a double date.

Yurei would be Tenya's date that evening. They would all go to a movie, eat dinner, and then go dancing. Yurei guessed that Tenya and Yurei would sip their drinks on the side of the dancefloor and make awkward jokes, or maybe exchange cute cat pictures. That's what she usually did with her more innocent dates.

"What are you going to wear tonight?" Mina suddenly asked, jumping on the bed to get closer to her face.

"Jeans and my yellow blouse, probably. I'm also debating dying my hair again." Yurei replied.

"You're going to dye your hair!?" Mina asked in shock.

"I'm thinking about it. If I'm going to do it, I have to do it soon." Yurei said.

"Do it! Do it, do it, do it, do iiiit!" Mina screamed manically.

"You're like that little demon from Disenchanted." Yurei commented.

"... do iiiiiit!" Mina yelled again, and accidentally toppled off of the bed.

6.

Day 27, Friday, 5:00 PM

Katsuki wondered why the hell he hung out in common areas anymore. He hated everyone in his class.

He was doing homework, reading up on Black Knight, a hero from thirty years ago, when the guys around him started talking.

"Is that what you're wearing on the date tonight?" Eijirou asked.

Katsuki looked up, and immediately started laughing.

Tenya was in a formal suit.

He even had a corsage; his hair was brushed and gelled back, his face ridiculously clean, glasses ridiculously shiny. He looked like a toddler getting dressed for his first date.

"Is that what you're wearing? Am I over dressed?" Tenya asked, and his face went completely red.

"Oh my gosh! Eijirou! You didn't tell me we were going some place fancy!" Mina screamed on the stairs, staring at Tenya. Eijirou tensed, his eyes going wide in alarm, and he quickly put his hands up.

"We're not-" Eijirou started to say, but Mina was already yelling about changing into a cute formal dress, about how Eijirou needed to change into his suit, and how he was useless at giving her information.

Once she was gone, Eijirou glared at Tenya.

"I have back up plans, if your original plans won't be enough." Tenya offered.

"What are your plans?" Eijirou asked, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"There's a formal ballroom dance taking place tonight. Since the girls will need more time to get ready, we can skip the movie, go to a nice restaurant, and then do ballroom dancing." Tenya suggested.

"I don't know how to ballroom dance." Eijirou said.

"There will be a beginners lesson at the beginning. You should go get dressed. It is advised to wear comfortable shoes and bring an extra shirt." Tenya said. Eijirou grunted, grumbling curses under his breath, and Katsuki snickered in amusement. The red head pushed himself to his feet, and stalked over to his room to change.

_Loser._

"So you're not going clubbing with us tonight, Tenya?" Hanta asked.

"If the group wants, we can join you there after ballroom dancing. The club is only a few blocks from there. I suppose it depends on everyone's mood, whether or not we go." Tenya replied, looking so incredibly dorky.

"You're lucky, Tenya. Yurei wouldn't even consider me for a date. When Eijirou messaged her about the idea, she replied with 'meh, I'd rather not'." Denki said, and Katsuki's grin fell.

_Blue Hair Girl is going out with this loser?_ Katsuki thought with a frown.

"Have you danced with girls at clubs before, Tenya?" Hanta asked.

"Yes! I danced with Deku, Tsu, and Ochaco in the past. Yurei also joined us, actually." Tenya replied, and some of their group laughed.

"No, like, club dancing. You know. What Katsuki has been yelling about all day." Hanta said, and a blush tinted Tenya's cheeks.

"Blue Hair Girl doesn't do that kind of 'dancing.'" Katsuki snapped.

"You know she was lying, right? She was just trying to save face in front of everyone. There's no way she's a virgin. I mean, have you seen the way she dances with Mina and Eijirou?" Hanta argued.

He recalled having to pull her skirt down and fix her shirt.

Katsuki's jaw tensed.

"Plus, this is a date, date." Mashirao added. "Even if she doesn't normally put out with people she's casually dancing with, she might be a little more open with people she's dating, like Mina is with Eijirou."

Katsuki felt like ripping his head off, but he refrained. Barely.

Tenya's eyes were wide in horror, his face turning red, and he started to sweat profusely.

"You have condoms, right?" Hanta asked him.

Katsuki glared as he listened to the guys continue giving Tenya advice for his upcoming date. They were disgusting; asking questions about Tenya's sexual history, talking about Tenya having sex with Yurei, describing her in sexual ways… Katsuki wanted to murder all of them.

After about an hour, Eijirou had already returned, wearing a suit and tie. They were just waiting for the girls.

"If we want the timing to work out, we should leave soon." Tenya said, and checked the clock on his phone again.

_I hope Blue Hair Girl kicks you in the face._ Katsuki thought angrily, and tried to keep his mouth shut.

"Holy shit." Eijirou said, staring at something.

Katsuki looked at what he was staring at, and his eyes widened, locking onto Yurei and Mina. They were both dressed up in formal dresses, but Yurei's was a little tighter, showing off her slim waist and ample breasts. Her hair was different, dyed a bright turquoise with the ends dyed yellow, and was pulled back in a fancy braid. She wore more make up than usual, which made her skin practically glow, and showed off her stunning hazel eyes. She had diamonds in her hair, which glimmered against the light, and butterfly earrings that matched them. Her dress was yellow and turquoise as well, matching her new hair color, and she had matching shoes that sparkled.

"Y-you both look beautiful." Tenya spoke.

Yurei's dress looked soft, and Katsuki had the inexplicable urge to run his hands along her curves. He openly stared, unable to look away, and mesmerized by how beautiful she looked.

He didn't even hear whatever they said as they left.

For a while, there was a silence, simply absorbing what happened just now.

"Damn. Mina and Yurei dress up nice." Hanta said, being the first to speak.

Katsuki scoffed, going back to his book, and tried to pretend like he hadn't been gawking like the rest of them.

"I wish that I was Tenya." Denki groaned, and hit his forehead against the table.

"Eijirou is so lucky." Mineta cried nearby, having been strangely quiet up until then.

"Yeah. Even if Tenya strikes out, Eijirou usually ends up with both of them." Hanta added.

Katsuki tried to ignore them as he went back to studying.

7.

Day 27, Friday, 10:00 PM

Yurei was having a surprisingly good time.

Their dinner started a little awkward, especially for Tenya, but she got him to laugh and calm down. Eijirou had a terrible time ballroom dancing, since it was his first time, but Tenya was able to glide Yurei across the dancefloor like a professional dancer.

Then, they got to the club, which is what Mina was the most excited about, and Eijirou was relieved to do something he was decent at. Eijirou took his blazer off, setting it on the back of a seat, and took his tie off, too. Tenya similarly undressed for the warm environment.

Mina and Eijirou were on the dancefloor before even getting their first drink.

"D-do you want me to get you something?" Tenya asked, his anxiety and nervousness returning tenfold.

"Something light. A hard cider?" Yurei asked.

He nodded, light briefly reflecting off of his perfectly clean glasses, and walked over to the bar to get their drinks. There was a pretty long line.

Yurei pulled out her phone, and started looking up cute animal pictures to show Tenya. As she did, she passively looked around, visually searching for their classmates. She saw Denki in the crowd, dancing with some girl, but no one else. The club was crowded that night, so they were probably there and she just couldn't see them.

When Tenya returned, they sat for a while and slowly sipped their drinks. They had danced a lot at the ballroom, much more than the other couple, so they had an excuse to rest their limbs. Tenya only feigned enjoyment from the cute animal photos she showed him, which surprised her. Usually on dates, cute animal pictures was a great icebreaker. Either Tenya didn't care for cute animal pictures, or he was just that nervous.

As she was looking up cute sloth pictures, Tenya downed the last of his tall drink, chugging it, and slammed the glass onto the table.

"Let's dance!" He said abruptly, and took her arm.

"Actually-" Yurei tried to say, but her voice was drowned out by the music. She was only halfway through her drink, and gave the beverage a longing look as she was dragged away, knowing that she'd be unable to finish it when she returned. That was one of the downsides to clubbing; she couldn't risk drinking something that hadn't been watched constantly.

As she was dragged into the pit of writhing bodies, she thought that Tenya would do the silly, dorky dancing that he usually did with Ochaco, Tsu, and Deku. Unfortunately, he turned her around roughly, put his hands on her hips, and brought his crotch against her butt.

She frowned, able to sense his awkwardness and anxiety, and disliking this position.

_Hopefully he doesn't wear down the fabric back there._ She thought irritably.

He at least had good timing with the rhythm, and she tried to get a little more into the dancing spirit, but she just wasn't expecting this from him. She had planned to have a fun evening of being silly and doing dorky dancing, not grinding in her brand new dress she'd been excited to wear.

She could feel his boner against her, and as they moved, it started getting a little painful.

One of his hands drifted to her thigh, to pull her skirt up, and she slapped his hand away.

Then, he pulled back, and thrust into her, _hard,_ causing her to jump and cry out in pain.

She turned, slapped him across the face, and then phased through the crowd, out of the club, and away from him.

7.

Day 27, Friday, 10:00 PM

As Katsuki sat at the table, listening to music and passively drinking, he noticed the people around him get excited by something. He looked up at where they were looking and pointing, and saw that their classmates had arrived. They seemed to be having a good time, too; Yurei was smiling and hanging on Tenya's arm.

His hand not on his glass gripped his thigh, and he focused on his breathing again.

_Why the fuck should I care? I already paid her back._

_I haven't paid her back for keeping my head from exploding._

While Eijirou and Mina leaped to the dancefloor, eager to 'dance,' the other couple stayed behind. They got some drinks, and smiled and laughed at something on Yurei's phone.

_Innocent enough._ Katsuki thought, and relaxed slightly. Tenya was a tool, a dull one at that, that seemed to have no interest in sex. He was weak and straightforward in a fight, and he was weak and straightforward in regular life, too.

"Come on, Iida, you can do it." Denki said in a loud voice, and he realized that the entire table was watching them. All of them were watching the couple, waiting for them to dance, and see what happens.

Tenya seemed to notice, looking up at them like a deer in headlights, absolutely terrified. Yurei was oblivious, still smiling at something on her phone.

Denki motioned for him to go to the dance floor, and made a humping motion in the air.

Tenya's face turned bright red.

The rest of their group gave him thumbs up, quietly encouraging him, since there was no way he would be able to hear them over the loud music. As the song switched to "Sexy Bitch", Tenya chugged the last of his drink, grabbed Yurei, and went to the dancefloor.

Their entire group cheered in excitement, yelling dumb things like "yeah boi!" and "go get that pussy!"

_All of them. Disgusting._ Katsuki thought with a twitch of his eye, and took a sip of his drink.

All around him, the boys "ooh"d, and made faces. Their excitement turned to horror and visibly wincing.

Katsuki looked up again, over at what they were looking at, and saw what was happening.

He burst into laughter at the scene before him. Yurei looked absolutely miserable, with Tenya awkwardly grinding against her, and staring intently at the back of her head. He was sweating profusely and looked painfully awkward; Yurei's mouth was in a firm grimace, eyes narrowed in a slight glare at the DJ. She looked like a cat being forced to take a bath.

"Oh, no, Iida, fall back, fall back, no," Denki and the rest of the group cried.

"I've never seen someone look so upset while dancing." Mashirao said.

"Abort, Iida, abort," Denki said, and then got up, "I'm going to save him."

He was too late, though. Something happened to make Yurei turn and slap Tenya across the face, and then stormed off, phasing through the crowd to the exit.

Katsuki burst into laughter again. _Serves you right._

Iida stood frozen in the middle of the dancefloor, alone, and looked mortified. After a few seconds, he came over to the group, on the verge of crying.

"What happened, dude?!" Denki asked.

"I should have never listened to any of you!" Tenya yelled at the top of his lungs.

While the boys chatted, Katsuki finished off his drink and left, searching for Blue Hair Girl. As he got outside, a cool breeze washed over him, and he let out a calming breath. As much as he enjoyed the heat from inside, the outside air was refreshing, and cooled his hot skin. After a few seconds he noticed Yurei by the street, her hands on her upper arms, and face set into a set scowl.

She still looked like a cat drenched in water; miserable and pissed.

Katsuki let out a snort, laughing at her sour disposition. Her grumpy glare turned to him, lightened by her make up, which only made her look cute and pouty.

"What do you want?" Yurei asked, her voice having a slight whine to it. He snorted again, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"What did Iida do to piss you off so much?" Katsuki asked, and her grumpy pout deepened, turning away from him again.

Usually, she was much more light-hearted and casual about dancing, and anything sex related. She spent time with Mina, afterall.

"Why did you even go out with that loser, anyway? I didn't know you were into lame-o extras like that." Katsuki asked, still smiling at her sour disposition.

"I thought we would go to a movie, get some food, and do dorky dancing, like what he does with Tsu and Ochaco. When you were a kid, did you ever have that weirdo friend that thought it would be funny to jam sticks up people's butts?" Yurei asked, and Katsuki frowned, unfortunately having a friend like that.

They made the mistake of doing that to him, and it hurt like hell. He beat the shit out of them.

"Unfortunately." Katsuki replied.

"That's basically what Tenya did, and it _hurt._ He tried to pull my skirt up, too. Why is it that all the nice guys try to jam their junk into me? Guys should be required to take a class on proper dating techniques. Penises hurt." Yurei said, still in that whiny voice and pout.

Katsuki couldn't help but chuckle again. He empathized with her a little more now, but the mental image of Tenya getting slapped again crossed his mind.

Then, he stilled, making the connection of _why_ she slapped him.

_Oh._

_I'm going to fucking kill him._

His body was moving before he was aware of it, and Yurei was calling after him as he went back inside the club. The familiar heat washed over him as he got inside again, along with the usual overpowering scents of perfume and cologne. There was no stopping his current rage, and he shoved past people as he went through the thick crowd. He went straight to his friends' table, where they were still talking to Tenya, and Katsuki clocked him in the face, as hard as he could.

Tenya collided with a chair and fell to the ground.

Katsuki knelt down, and as Tenya started to sit up, Katsuki smashed his knuckles into his face again.

Before he could get another hit, he suddenly felt…

Calm?

He paused, no longer feeling that blind rage, and felt disoriented.

The music was loud.

He could smell tequila close by.

There was a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back, and pulling him to his feet. Blue Hair Girl used her emotion quirk on him, and the realization made his mind run wild. He couldn't feel angry, but he knew that he logically should be, and his fighting instinct started to kick in.

"Release your quirk." Katsuki told her.

"Not until you come back outside with me. I don't want you to beat him up because of me." Yurei shouted over the music. Tenya was trying to get up again.

He needed to get the shit kicked out of him.

He deserved that.

Katsuki shoved her away, and went after Tenya, kicking him onto his back, and knelt down to punch him again. Tenya blocked this time, and was bigger than Katsuki, giving him an edge. He felt strange as he went after him, not having the usual drive. Being so disconnected from his emotions was strange, but his thought process was the same. Katsuki had fought enough in his lifetime to win under a myriad of circumstances, and that included altered/different states of mind.

Katsuki punched Tenya in the crotch, hard, causing him to break his guard. As the explosion quirk user went after him, more meticulous than usual, he hit the pathetic nerd until security hoisted him up, and forced him out of the club.

He stumbled to the ground, still feeling disoriented, and watched Yurei run out as the guards went back inside.

"Release your dumb quirk." Katsuki told her again.

He felt a sudden rush of a emotions, flooding him all at once, and he trembled at the sensation.

"Katsuki, please calm down." Yurei requested.

Then, he felt anger at security.

He wasn't done beating the shit out of Tenya. _How dare they interrupt me? Do they know who the fuck I am?!_

He started to get up, but felt a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"My cab is here. Can we please go back to the dorms?" Yurei requested.

"I'm not done with that piece of shit." Katsuki snapped at her.

"You can do that later. Please, just walk me home." Yurei said in a soft voice, looking at her hand on his chest, and shivering slightly. Her eyes were more watery than before.

Katsuki contemplated her request.

_If I go in there now, I get to fight a lot of people, and probably get into a lot of trouble. If I beat the shit out of Tenya later, maybe after he gets back to the dorms, I can beat him up more properly._

Tenya was his target, not the other people.

"Fine." Katsuki agreed, and she let out a sigh of relief.

She moved to stand, and held out a hand to him. He took it, using her to stand, and went with her to the taxi.

8.

Day 28, Saturday, 7:00 PM

The next evening, Katsuki was in the lounge studying, when he heard Mina's voice.

She was with Eijirou, unsurprisingly, and they flopped down on the other end of the couch, yawning and stretching.

"Hey Katsuki, have you seen Yurei today?" Eijirou asked.

"No." Katsuki replied.

"I told you, she hasn't left her room all day. Tenya and Katsuki freaked her out too much last night." Mina said.

_Tenya's the one that tried to jam his dick in her._ Katsuki thoughtagitatedly, and recalled the stick analogy with disdain. He had a new level of disgust and hatred for boners.

"Tenya's still in the infirmary. Classes are going to be awkward next week." Eijirou said, and let out a sigh as he stretched out his arms behind the couch.

"So when are you going to ask out Yurei, Katsuki?" Mina asked.

"Dating is a waste of time." Katsuki said.

"Then why'd you beat up Tenya?" Mina asked with a manic grin.

"Because what kind of creep just jams their boner into people? It's disgusting. All of you are disgusting." Katsuki said, and sent an extra glare at Eijirou.

"Were you raped at some point, or something?" Eijirou asked in a flat tone.

Katsuki's chest tightened, and his jaw tensed.

"Of course not, shit head." Katsuki retorted.

"Because it would explain a lot of things about you. No judgment, bro." Eijirou said.

"Fuck off." Katsuki said, and grabbed his things before leaving. He'd go study in his room for the rest of the night.

9.

Day 28, Saturday, 7:00 PM

Yurei sat by her balcony, looking out at the rain, and kept listening to her mother's voice.

Her mother was a nervous talker.

Her father's condition had her stressed.

"-but you have such interesting classmates, Yurei. The boys are just being typical boys. At least it sounds like your father was right to like Katsuki; he seems like a good one. You'll just have to watch yourself around him." Her mother said.

"I guess." Yurei said.

"What's wrong?" Her mother asked.

Yurei let out a tired sigh, watching the rain pour harder. She used to love storm watching with Ikari.

"The Tuna lady. She said that I'm just a dumb rape victim that can't do anything right. I guess I'm worried that I'm going to rely on Katsuki too much. I don't want him to fight my battles for me." Yurei admitted.

"That woman got in a lot of trouble for what she said to you. She's already being transferred to a different department. After you saved so many people, the rest of the department didn't put up with any of Tuna's shit, and your teachers were upset, too. Don't you worry about anything she said to you." Her mother assured.

"... but that's how a lot of people think of me now, mom. I'm just a dumb victim." Yurei said.

"You are going to be a powerful and great hero, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Anyone who says you're not a strong and capable hero are ignorant or jealous. You're only eighteen and you've saved dozens of people. What Ikari did does not define who you are or what you're capable of." Her mother told her.

She had a check up appointment coming up soon. They would check her injuries to make sure that there were no complications.

The doctor was a professional, but… knowing that so many people looked at her private parts during surgery, and then having to have a doctor check her….

"Don't think of Katsuki helping you as him fighting your battles. Think of him as a friend that helps when he sees someone in need." Her mother suggested, and Yurei huffed out a laugh.

"Katsuki doesn't care about helping people, mom. He just likes excuses to beat people up." Yurei said.

"Has he beat up other men that assault women? Or just ones that hurt you?" Her mother asked.

… she didn't know of anyone else….

"He's been weird about sex in general. Apparently he saw some of his classmates having sex the other night, and it really freaked him out. He spent the entire day screaming at a bunch of hungover teenagers about how 'disgusting' they were." Yurei said, and her mother started laughing.

She smiled, a little, too.

"I think he might still be freaked about a couple of weeks ago, when some girl drugged and tried to take advantage of him. I was the one who got him to the infirmary. He had a bad reaction, and could have died." Yurei added, having forgotten about that, miraculously. That felt like forever ago.

"Well there you go, Yurei. You saved his life, twice, so he wants to return the favor. He's being strange about sex because he had a sheltered life and was almost raped." Her mother rationalized.

"I guess." Yurei said, but something still nagged at her in the back of her mind. She kept thinking about what Tuna said, about her being a manipulative, mind altering, rape victim, that mindfucks her victims into a rage.

"Your father's surgery went well today. No complications." Her mother suddenly said.

"You told me earlier. I'm glad for that." Yurei said.

"What's on your mind, sweetie? You still sound like you're upset." Her mother said.

"I'm just sour about last night." Yurei answered, which was close enough to the truth. "I'm nervous about Tuesday, too. There's going to be a big thing happening in class, and I feel like the teachers went all out for it. I was even excused from my second class and my supervisor was warned that I might not be able to do my usual shift."

"That sounds exciting." Her mother said.

"Some parts sound fun. I'm nervous, though. Katsuki and I are paired up, and it looks like we're going to have one of the most important parts. If we fail, the entire thing flops." Yurei said.

"You're paired up with Katsuki for this?" Her mother said in a strange way.

"Yeah. In the scenario, we're effectively the secret service, escorting a prince to a diplomatic meeting. We don't know what our classmates will be doing, except what's in the mission report, but parts of it could be strictly wrong. I have a feeling that some people will be spies. I also suspect that they're going to be having a lot of other people, outside of class, participate. I've overheard a few students from other classes talking about being part of it." Yurei explained.

"So it's kind of like a giant play. Can I go?" Her mother asked.

"I don't think so. I think it's going to be heroes only, since there will probably be fighting involved." Yurei answered.

"Maybe you can think of it as training for when you and Katsuki work at H.T.S. together." Her mother suggested, and a frown tugged at her lips.

10.

Day 29, Sunday, 3:00 PM

The next day, she invited Katsuki to her room, to go over the Tuesday project.

She sat on the bed while he sat at her desk chair. He brought a notebook filled with notes and the assignment packet.

"We should go over the plan, and any extra things. One of the things I wanted to bring up is that you have faster reflexes than I do. In an immediate attack, like if Eijirou jumps out and tries to attack the prince head on, it'll be ideal if you blocked and I grabbed the prince to get him to a safe location." Yurei said, and he nodded.

"I figured. You just need the extra few seconds to react." Katsuki said with a nod.

"Since you expressed concern about the snipers, I figure that when we step out of the limo, I can leave with the prince first, and use my quirk to phase him to the building. You can come in after us. That way, if we get shot at, you can alert security by the door. If we don't get shot at, you still get a good angle to watch for any attacks or any suspicious people. Using my quirk here eliminates one of the most vulnerable places we have to go through." Yurei reasoned.

"Once we're inside the building, we're more likely to encounter close range fighters, so I should lead in there. You'll walk next to him, ready to phase in case something happens, and the second team, Tokoyami and Shoji, will be behind us." Katsuki added, and continued going through the details, making sure that they had everything down.

They also went through contingency plans, for when things went wrong that the assignment didn't cover.

11.

Day 32, Tuesday, 5:30 AM

Yurei heard cracking from Katsuki, and looked over to see him cracking his neck, tilting his head side to side.

She tried not to let her gaze linger on him.

He looked really good in a suit.

Really, really good.

They were a bit early to the show, but so were their classmates, and there was a side entrance where practically the entire school was entering the training area. Everyone in their class was dressed up, either exhausted and yawning into their hands or excitedly jumping from foot to foot.

"Yurei! You look so cute!" Mina announced as she bounded over, dressed in a completely ridiculous outfit. She was in neon fur, her horns painted yellow with red stripes, and her entire body was just an eye sore.

"You… look so bright!" Yurei replied.

"Yeah. Part of the brief." Mina said with a shrug. "You look handsome, too, Bakugou!"

"Of course I do." Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes, as if it were obvious. Which, it was, but that didn't make his response cute.

"It looks like the entire school is in on this." Yurei commented, looking back to the side entrance again. People from all over campus were strolling in.

"I know, right? I'm super nervous. I heard a rumor that the top students from the other classes were asked to participate, including the Big Three." Mina said, and Yurei groaned. Going against Mirio would be weird, and would probably end badly. He had a lot more training in fighting, and she'd been helping him boost his stamina against her emotions quirk.

After a while of waiting and talking, All Might started calling students up, pair by pair, and taking them to specific sections of the training area.

"Is it my imagination, or did this place get bigger in the last few days?" Yurei suddenly asked.

"Cementoss probably made it bigger. He built all of the dorms in a single weekend." Katsuki said, and she blinked in surprise.

_What if we end up having to fight that?_ She wondered with a frown, and looked to the wall again. The thick cement wall kept them from seeing inside, so she could only guess at what awaited them.

"You're on my team, which means we're going to win. Don't freak out, or any dumb shit, okay?" Katsuki told her.

She let out a tired sigh, still thinking about not working at H.T.S., after what happened.

So much blood. Death. Crying.

_Tomo._

"Did you hear me?" Katsuki asked, and hit her arm.

"Yeah, yeah." Yurei muttered.

To their dismay, they were the last ones to be called. They were the last ones outside at all, and she'd had the brief flicker of fear that they'd already messed up. The doors into the training area closed.

All their classmates in their positions, so they were the only ones left, standing outside awkwardly and waiting to be called.

_We are two of the strongest people in the class._ She rationalized; so, the difficulty level for them would probably be higher than the others.

Yurei let out an uneasy breath, and noticed that Katsuki appeared pretty calm. His anxiety wasn't bad as usual, either. _At least one of us is confident._

Katsuki had probably done assignments like this last term, though, so he knew mostly what to expect. Yurei hadn't done anything remotely close to this at her old school. She felt more confident about doing raids; at least she knew more about what to expect.

Then, one of the doors opened, and All Might came out with a middle aged man. He was dressed in an African styled outfit, with lots of greens and yellows, and had a thick beard. He had sunglasses covering half of his face.

"Agent Kasai, Bakugou, this is Prince Wapato, from Wakanda. You've been tasked with escorting him safely to a meeting at the international building. You will enter through this door over here, the one painted with 'three' on it, and get him into a limo. From there, you should know what to do." All Might explained.

He was even wearing a suit and tie, too.

"I'm being escorted by a woman? That's wack." The prince said.

_That's racist._

"Would you prefer to be unconscious as we escort you?" Katsuki asked, and the prince made an uneasy face.

"I have hired you two to escort me safely to my meeting. I'm paying you good money." The prince said indignantly.

Yurei tapped the prince's cheek, making him sleepy, and Katsuki shoved him lightly, getting him moving.

"We have a time table. Move." Katsuki said.

Wapato yawned as he walked, and asked, "Why do I feel so sleepy all of a sudden?"

"Move." Katsuki said, and shoved him again.

12.

Day 32, Tuesday, 6:30 AM

A half hour went by since the class officially started, and Deku was amazed by how many people volunteered for this project. The training grounds were filled with people, making everything feel just like a bustling city. Deku and Tenya were stationed downstairs, at one of the entryways into the building. They were supposed to guard this door from any intruders.

But, so far, nothing had really happened. They both listened as the sounds of their classmates confirmed everything was going as planned. The various company leaders had arrived safely.

The prince arrived safely, and was in the meeting room. They were just waiting for two other members before they started.

"... do you know of a good way I could apologize to Yurei?" Tenya asked, suddenly.

They were the only ones in the hallway.

"... about what happened on your date?" Deku asked, and Tenya nodded.

Word had spread fast, especially after Katsuki sent him to the infirmary. Mina also talked about it a lot, once Yurei told her what happened. Everyone in the dorm knew about what happened.

"Grovel?" Deku suggested.

Tenya slowly nodded in acceptance.

"I've been practicing every day since it happened." Tenya said with a pout.

Deku wasn't sure what else to say on the matter, just happy that something so awkward hadn't happened to him. Girls were a terrifying concept.

He turned, seeing movement in the corner of his eye, and jumped away before a small ear jack went into his ear.

13.

Day 32, Tuesday, 6:45 AM

Yurei was nervous as she stood in the hallway with Katsuki. Over fifteen minutes had passed with nothing happening.

Everything was going too smoothly.

Mezo and Fumikage were doing a perimeter sweep. Katsuki and Yurei stood on either side of the door. There was quiet talking coming from inside, as if it were a regular, boring, meeting.

_They didn't change their minds and listen to Tuna, did they? Decide that a wrecked teenage girl wasn't enough to be a hero, so they'd put her on easy work, where nothing bad happens?_

"What is with you?" Katsuki asked, and she realized that he was staring at her.

"What?" She whispered.

"You weren't nearly this nervous at the dumb raid, and this isn't even real." Katsuki whispered.

Yurei let out a tired sigh, her shoulders lowering slightly.

"I've done tons of research for H.T.S. raids. I haven't done nearly as much for jobs like this. I'm used to saving children from power hungry mercenaries, not protecting fat pigs from assassins. Because this is a dumb simulation, not real, I can't use my emotions quirk to get a read on anyone. Some of the people in this simulation are acting their part, but they can't feel it. Everything feels wrong and it's frustrating to figure out what's simulation and what's dumb college student." Yurei explained.

"Just relax until everything goes wrong. I'm the one that will take the first hit, anyway." Katsuki suggested.

"What if you don't react fast enough?" Yurei asked.

"Well then you're fucked anyway, because you're slower than me." Katsuki said.

She grunted, and looked down the hallway. There were two other guards in front of the elevator.

"They should have had me do perimeter checks. Mezo should have stayed." Yurei said.

"You don't get it, do you?" Katsuki asked her.

"What?" Yurei asked.

"You got the glamor position." Katsuki said.

"... what?" Yurei asked.

"You saved, what, fifty people or whatever the other week? And then I won the competition. We're here because the prince would recognize our names. We're the last line of defense if something goes wrong. Everyone else has to deal with the shit before it gets to us, which means that they're doing all the work. So long as they don't fuck up, we don't have to do a thing." Katsuki explained.

_Glamor positions? That's a thing?_

_They probably went over that in classes about hero agencies and presentation… the classes I didn't pay attention in because I planned to work at H.T.S._

_Of course he knows about that._

"You are so dumb." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"Sometimes." She agreed, and he rolled his eyes again.

Then, she sensed fear behind her. She phased through the door, looking inside and saw familiar orange smoke.

_The shit got past everyone, apparently._

Zombies.

Yurei phased back, moved to stand next to Katsuki, and sighed.

"Team Zero Ghost to all other teams, is anyone prepared for a virus outbreak or know any related protocols?" Yurei asked on their radio.

No answer.

"Is anyone still conscious?" Yurei asked, and rolled her eyes. "And this is why I should have been on lookout."

"What's going in there?" Katsuki asked.

Yurei took his hand, phased through the floor, and got them to an empty room.

"Potato guy and everyone in that room is a zombie, because an asshole from my old school filled the room with a gas. That means that the people here aren't just from our school, they're from other schools, too. Our teams are down and we're facing off against a shit ton of quirk users we don't know and a bunch of assholes that I want to destroy. I don't know what the hell is going on, and I'm annoyed." Yurei said.

"So what's your plan?" He asked with an excited smirk.

"I'm taking us down to the main lobby. We get that under control, and while I'm taking care of the rest of the building, you make sure no one leaves or comes into the building that way. You'll also need to get information from people while I'm busy." Yurei suggested, and his eye sparkled, seeming excited about the plan. "The more people you knock out, the less I have to, so you're going to be busy and on your own for a while. Can you handle that?"

He cracked his neck, still smirking.

"Ready when you are." Katsuki said.

He let out a surprised yelp as they went through the floor, fell down a few feet, went through another floor, fell again, went through another floor, and ended up in the corner of the lobby.

They silently fell, phasing slightly into the ground to not make a sound with their feet, and were effectively hidden by a plant and couch.

"Shit. Well, find them. They're the only ones we haven't taken out." Someone said, and they looked over, finding that someone was talking into an earpiece. They were nearby, but had happened to look away when they fell. "I know she goes through fucking walls, but she's with Bakugou. That idiot will be making sound soon."

He then walked away, and the pair looked around, getting a layout of the room.

"I'll take care of this room, you go to the rest of the building." Katsuki said.

"No matter what you do, don't get bit, and contact me if you need help. If you get knocked out, I'll be fucking pissed." Yurei told him.

"I don't think I've seen you this angry before." Katsuki commented, still smirking. His bright canines shined against the light, somehow emphasizing the red in his eyes. He was ready to fight.

"I hate my old classmates. I'll knock out everyone in this stupid building if I have to." Yurei told him, and then realized how close they were. Their cheeks were practically touching.

… they were leaning close to hear each other. Obviously.

"What's your plan for taking this room?" Yurei asked.

"Beat them up." Katsuki said easily, and stood up, stalking towards his first prey. He punched him in the back, using his quirk to amplify his punch, sending the poor bastard clear across the room.

"You assholes wanna go!? Let's go!" Katsuki yelled with a crazed grin as his hands sparked dangerously.

She discreetly phased over to the unconscious guy he punched, got his earpiece, and got started.

14.

Day 32, Tuesday, 7:15 AM

All Might and Aizawa blinked as they watched the destruction unfold.

The teachers around them seemed just as awestruck.

While Bakugou was successfully drawing in all of their fighters, and defeating them, Yurei was taking out all the other ones around their building, and did so by using their own radios.

Every once in a while she'd check on Bakugou, and if he was having a hard time with an elusive quirk, she'd just knock out the user, letting him keep to his strengths and knock out the bigger opponents.

"... and you said the zombies would be too much…." All Might told Aizawa.

15.

Day 32, Tuesday, 7:15 AM

She diffused the bomb in the basement.

The zombies were effectively quarantined to the fourth floor, and the asshole that used that quirk was trapped inside a room without a radio (because his zombies halt brain function, her quirk didn't work on them). She also made sure that he got infected by his own virus, so she wouldn't have to deal with him.

That wasn't all of their classmates, though.

There were a lot of people outside.

She went back to the lobby, and was unsurprised to find Katsuki standing on a pile of unconscious or semi-conscious people. His hands were sparking, and he kept looking around, practically begging for someone to jump out and attack him.

"Zombies are secure, and the prince is safe. Bomb is defused and locked down in a new location, so people can't get in to reactivate or even find it. I came across everyone in our class except for Mineta, Todoroki, Mina, and Momo. We're still not done with this dumb exercise." Yurei explained.

He looked down at her, seeming perfectly relaxed and comfortable with his dominant position.

The people below him groaned in pain.

"Which means that we're going to be dealing with an attack from outside, most likely." Katsuki said, and turned to face the miraculously in tact wall and main entrance.

"Technically, since there are so many unconscious people in the building, we should migrate outside, to keep from causing structural instability to this place in the event of a fight." Yurei said in a bored tone.

"You don't seem thrilled by that." Katsuki commented.

"I don't fucking care. I want this exercise done." Yurei said.

"You could do recon outside. Check the perimeter." Katsuki suggested.

"But that's effort." Yurei said, and yawned into her hand.

Katsuki chuckled, "reaching your limit with your quirk?"

"Yeah. I'm not used to using it on so many people. Did you call for reinforcements, by the way, or make any contact with outside authorities?" Yurei asked.

"I was too busy beating people up." Katsuki said.

"So was I. Fucking call them while I check out the surrounding area for the missing ones." Yurei said, and glided away. She hid in the shadows as she moved, keeping most of her body unseen. As she moved, she discovered that there were dozens of people outside, closing in on their position.

Quickly, she glided inside, grabbed Katsuki, and took him back to the corner of the room to hide.

"They won't answer. All of the numbers we were given aren't answering." Katsuki said.

"We're about to be swarmed by dozens of people, and I have no idea what their plan is, or what our objective is at this point. I feel like we messed up somewhere, or we were supposed to lose. For something so scripted it feels like it's turning into a battle royale." Yurei explained.

"How long can you keep the people unconscious?" Katsuki asked.

"Not much longer. I thought the exercise would be done once we seized control of the building." Yurei admitted.

"Then release them. We'll hide for now, let the dumb story play out, and intervene again once we figure out what we're supposed to do." Katsuki suggested.

She didn't have a better plan.

She pulled out the extra earpiece and radio she found, so that he could hear them, too.

Then, she took them to a closed off room on that floor, which was devoid of furniture or decorations, and deactivated her quirk on everyone in the building.

If anyone became a problem, they could just knock them out again.

16.

Day 32, Tuesday, 9:30 AM

Two hours went by.

Yurei was unbelievably bored.

Katsuki was, too.

She ended up laying down, with her head on his thigh, passively staring at either his hair or the ceiling, while they listened to the radios.

As everyone played their roles, it was evident that they were playing out some kind of weird drama. There were spies on all sides, love betrayals, new love interests, brotherly betrayal, heroes turned villain, villain turned hero, and other crap.

If Katsuki or Yurei said anything, there was a chance that Kyoka would hear them.

They only got to see using the faint light from under the door.

Since the building was so new, it didn't have any weird smells yet, which was nice.

Katsuki seemed strangely melancholy, which was also nice.

Upon reflection, she probably should have gathered all of their security people to one location, so that they could work together to take out all the bad guys. That's what Deku and Tenya _seemed_ to be doing, based on the radios. Deku's character turned out to be secretly in love with Tsu's character, and Tsu ended up betraying them, which was a whole thing.

There was no point in bringing all their comrades together if half of them were spies.

"Rikido, I have a confession to make!" Mina spoke into the ear piece.

"W-what?" Rikido asked awkwardly.

"I'm in love with you!" Mina confessed.

She'd already professed her undying love to four other people, just on the radios.

"... do you want to go out there and reclaim the building again?" Yurei asked unenthusiastically.

"But I'm in love with Rikido!" Eijirou announced on the radio.

"Then we must fight to the death!" Mina replied.

In the darkness, she saw Katsuki take out both earpieces, but he didn't move to stand or leave.

"Not really." Katsuki answered.

"Neither do I. I have a feeling that there are more people to come, too. Plus, so long as they can't find the bomb, we don't have anything to worry about." Yurei said.

They'd been searching for hours with no luck.

"Can I touch your face?" Katsuki asked randomly.

"I guess. Just be gentle." Yurei said, and then, her stomach started to whine.

"How long can you go without food?" Katsuki asked, and his thumb gently touched her cheek.

The warmth felt nice.

"A few more hours. I don't want to push it too much, though." Yurei answered, and smiled against the gentle exploratory caresses. They were quiet again, with him just petting her face, and her enjoying the touch while listening to their classmates and her old ones be stupid.

17.

Day 32, Tuesday, 11:30 AM

Screaming in his ear woke him up.

Katsuki blinked awake, confused by his surroundings, but then quickly recalled their situation. He checked his phone, finding that two more hours had gone by.

He hoped they would be finished soon.

Yurei shifted slightly, and then he heard a soft whine from her, and froze in place. She nuzzled her cheek into his hand, and scorching heat spread along his cheeks. He felt surprisingly comfortable here, and the nap had been pleasant.

_Maybe I should sleep with her more often._

His cheeks heated up even more at the thought, and he was grateful for the darkness to cover his blush.

The gurgle and whine from Yurei's stomach filled his ears.

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF: THERE WILL BE A HALF HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH. FOOD IS AVAILABLE OUTSIDE THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING. REMEMBER WHERE YOU ARE, AND AFTER THE BREAK, EVERYTHING WILL RESUME."

Yurei reached up to hold his hand, interlacing their fingers, and moved them through the building.

Out front, there were dozens of carts and tables of food being set up. Katsuki was a little more relaxed as he went about getting food, quickly adjusting to the change in lighting. Yurei somehow got a massive bowl, filled it with food, and then joined him at one of the tables to the side.

She was ravenous, devouring it quickly.

As they ate, Katsuki was surprised that Shouto joined them, sitting across from them.

"You two have been strangely absent the last few hours." Shouto commented simply.

Katsuki smirked.

Shouto had been leading their enemy forces to find the bomb, hoping to ransom half the city for money. He'd been getting pretty frustrated trying to find it, and Katsuki found enjoyment in hearing his classmates get increasingly frustrated.

"You've been pretty frustrated the last few hours." Yurei retorted.

One of their teachers, All Might, came to join them.

"You two made quite the ruckus this morning." All Might said with a good natured smile.

"How long is this going to last?" Yurei asked.

"Most of the day." All Might replied.

Katsuki yawned into his hand.

"I'm surprised that you haven't been more active, Bakugou." All Might commented.

Katsuki shrugged.

"What's the grading like for this? What's my grade so far?" Yurei asked.

"You already got all of your participation points for this morning. There were a few critiques, but you both did much better than expected. We weren't quite expecting you to reclaim the entire building so quickly." All Might Explained.

"I figured. Then can we leave for the rest of the day?" Yurei asked.

"Nope. You'll lose points if you leave." All Might said.

Yurei grunted, and All Might laughed.

Once the story progressed a bit more, and all of the elements revealed, they would probably try to reclaim the building like before.

Katsuki wanted to fight again.

More, though, he wanted to win.

18.

Day 32, Tuesday, 2:00 PM

After another nap, Yurei and Katsuki decided to make another play.

This time, Yurei didn't feel like overusing her quirk, so she let Katsuki do all the heavy hitting. He liked to hit, so it worked out. She would phase them to a location, he'd beat people up, and she would occasionally phase him to avoid heavy damage.

After making the plan, they were about to leave, when Katsuki decided to take his tattered blazer and shirt off. He seemed to be wearing a tank top underneath, but the sudden stripping had caught her off guard.

Then, he reached out for her hand, and grasped it.

She froze in place, confused, and felt a blush spread across her face and chest.

"... are we going to go?" Katsuki asked after a few seconds.

"Why did you take your shirt off?" Yurei asked.

She was glad that he couldn't see her face in the mostly dark room.

"It was going to get in the way." Katsuki answered simply.

… _ah._

"... are we going to go?" Katsuki repeated.

"... yeah." Yurei replied awkwardly.

His hand was nice and warm.

"We're going to the lobby first, right?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah." He nodded.

Not wanting to dwell in that awkward space anymore, she phased them down, taking them to the main lobby. Katsuki went forward, letting go of her hand, and she blinked at the change in lighting and at how nice his arm muscles looked.

Shaking her head, she looked around, at the dozen enemies around the room. Some of them were her old classmates, igniting that raw anger inside her again. They were the ones that spread rumors about her fucking the entire campus and making false rape accusations against 'innocent, nice, good guys'.

She knelt down, sinking slightly into the floor, and glided through the room, phasing through her old classmates.

The sound of their vomiting soon followed.

Instead of touching them directly, Katsuki dealt with them by throwing other people at them. Mineta got absolutely covered in vomit, and she wasn't too upset by that.

As more people came into the room, Yurei held back, and admired the way that Katsuki fought. His reflexes and ability to think on his feet were amazing. The way he fought multiple people seemingly with ease, how he was able to turn midair with the help of his quirk, and adapt his style quickly for any opponent.

How one person could be so strong and versatile was beyond her.

Yurei never had to try very hard with her quirk in a fight, so she was always impressed and amazed when she saw other people use their weak or weird quirks in a unique or powerful way.

Katsuki used explosions to fly, and that was pretty amazing.

A few of the people who entered the room were her old classmates, ones she particularly disliked, so she quickly went over to make them nauseous, and then returned to her perch to watch her partner fight.

Wind suddenly picked up, sending Katsuki into the air, and Yurei couldn't find the quirk user. The wind tried to get her, too, but it didn't work. It went right through her.

_Cameras._ Yurei realized.

There was a security room.

_We should have been hiding in there this entire time... oh well._

Yurei quickly left to dispatch him.

Shouto was there, too, so she also knocked him out.

She came back to the lobby, finding Katsuki in his usual fighting rage. He'd lost his tank top at some point in the fight and his pants weren't fairing well, either.

Then, a few minutes later, there was complete silence. People were on the ground, unconscious, some laying in their own (or someone else's) vomit.

"Do you want to stay here or come with me as I search the building for everyone else?" Yurei asked him.

"I'll go with you." Katsuki said.

She yawned into her hand, looking away from him, and held out her other hand to him.

_Just focus on how bad he smells, not the half nakedness._

_Yurei, you've seen naked people before. Pull yourself together._

Sparks went up her arm as he clasped his warm hand with hers.

Hopefully he didn't see her blush with the yawn.

She sunk them into the ground.

19.

Day 32, Tuesday, 2:15 PM

Mina needed to think fast.

Bakugou and Yurei were coming.

She used her acid on the floor, creating a hole, and made another hole on the floor below: releasing the zombies.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Hello! I'm sorry for the delayed update. It's been a stressful few months. On the plus side: now you'll get multiple chapters to read tonight! ^^ (I'm about to do grocery shopping, but I'll update the other chapters when I get back)

Thank you for all the faves, follows, and reviews! I hope you enjoy the chapters!

**Author's Note (from time I wrote this):** I eventually switch from "day" to month/days in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_Zombie Love_

Day 32, Tuesday, 2:20 PM

By the time they got to Mina, it was too late.

Yurei and Katsuki looked down at the multitude of holes going all the way down to the basement.

There were three holes on this floor. One let you see all the way to the basement, the other the lobby, and the other was the third floor.

Which, allowed the zombies to move all over the building.

"Not bad, Mina." Yurei complimented. "My emotions quirk doesn't work on them."

"Thanks!" Mina said with a thumbs up.

"But now we have a building of zombies to worry about." Yurei said.

"Half head already blocked off all exits, remember? We just call that quarantine number All Might gave us at lunch and wait outside." Katsuki said.

"How are you going to get outside if all the exits are blocked?" Mina asked haughtily.

"... I use my quirk, Mina…." Yurei replied.

Mina screamed as she gripped her hair in frustration.

Then, Yurei felt a sudden pain in her head.

She gripped her head, moaning in pain, and braced the wall for support.

1.

Day 32, Tuesday, 2:25 PM

Katsuki looked over in alarm, seeing Yurei crumble in pain, and looked around for the source. There was a weirdo at the end of the hall, staring at them.

"Sorry guys!" Mina said as she waved and ran off.

He heard a sound behind him, and turned, watching as a guy twice his size charged at Yurei. Katsuki grabbed her arm, swinging her out of the way, and used his quirk to make them move faster.

The charging guy was fast, too. He turned, suddenly, and hit Katsuki in the face.

Hard.

Pain erupted through his head, and for a brief moment, he blacked out. He woke back up a few seconds later, on the ground, and watched as the gray guy brought his foot back, about to kick Yurei in the midsection.

Katsuki reacted, covering her with his body, and braced his shoulder for impact. He grit his teeth against the pain, and was thrown back against the wall, his head knocking against the cement surface.

Katsuki quickly reacted, moving to his feet and using his explosion quirk to hit the gray figure. But, through the flames, his fist landed in a punch, and it felt like all of the momentum he had left him at once.

Then, as the smoke cleared, he looked at his enemy's face, and recognized them.

Momentum.

He was a pro-hero that absorbed kinetic energy and could redirect it. Katsuki dodged before he could land a retaliatory hit, grabbed Yurei, and jumped down one of the holes. The fell to the lowest floor, and he made sure that she didn't hit her head in the fall. He shifted to get her over his shoulder, attacked the nearest zombie, and made his way to one of the rooms.

He made sure to not let the zombies get too close. Being bitten wouldn't be ideal.

Once inside a room, he shut the door, and tossed Yurei onto the small bed. Then, he moved a small couch to block the door.

His right shoulder hurt like hell.

There was some banging from outside.

A feminine scream came from the end of the hallway, drawing their attention away, and Katsuki let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully, Momentum wouldn't come after them down here. Even if he did, there were a lot of empty rooms and zombies to slow him down.

In one of their contingency plans, not in the packet, they decided that this would be an ideal place to lay low should something bad happen. It was one of the few rooms in the building to have a bed.

Katsuki's gaze moved back to his unconscious partner.

_Not bad, Mina. Annoying, but not bad. Yurei lowered her guard around you._

Katsuki sighed, and moved away from the door. He flinched at the pain in his shoulder.

Numbness was starting to spread through his arm; his right arm would be pretty useless in a fight, now. Their plan didn't change, though. Instead of waiting outside, they just needed to wait in the basement.

"Momentum to Ox Tails. Ghost is out of commission, but Ground Zero ran to the zombie areas with her. Ground Zero took a pretty substantial hit, so I suspect that they won't be bothering us anymore." He heard over the radio.

"Good. What's the status on the bomb?" Shouto asked.

"We've been unable to locate it, but that's inconsequential now. Make the call." Momentum told him.

_Call?_ Katsuki wondered.

Their original plan involved ransoming half the city for money. Without the bomb, they couldn't do that.

_Unless they just blow up everything, setting off the bomb in the process._ Katsuki thought, and sat down near Yurei, inspecting his shoulder.

It hadn't been a light kick.

His body ached from the resulting backlash, and Yurei was still unconscious. As he sat there, he considered his options. 1. Leave her behind, go beat up the zombies and last of their enemies. 2. Stay with Yurei until she woke up, and use her to get around the building more effectively.

Katsuki shifted, and used his non injured hand to lightly slap her cheek.

She didn't respond.

He didn't want to leave her unconscious against zombies.

Another strange emotion tugged at him, and it irked him.

He'd gotten used to fighting with her, so he didn't want to run off and fight people alone. With an annoyed glare, he realized that he was becoming dependent on her.

_Right now, she's dependent on you_.

Yurei was physically very weak: he once saw her struggle to lift a bag of potatoes. Mina, of all people, had to help her.

He sighed, and looked at his shoulder again, which was still pulsing in pain.

They didn't _have_ to do anything. All Might had been clear about that at lunch. Trying to retake the building again had been more of a fun challenge for Katsuki and revenge endeavor for Yurei… which, they failed at.

He didn't want to think about what would have happened if she took that kick. She was frail, tiny and weak.

Katsuki didn't like to fail. Not being able to take over the building was a fail. Pro-hero involvement or not. It was a fail.

Even if he did go out there, he didn't know who was planning to blow up the building, or anything else about their plan. He was just guessing. All he could do was blindly punch people.

_Probably should have gathered up everyone on our team any way, spies or not, just to figure out what they knew._

Not that he _needed _to do anything else.

All Might said that the longer the activity went on, the more their other classmates could do, and the more they could learn from the activity. He even hinted that he and Yurei should just take a nap until it was over. Yurei's guess about them messing up the plan a little too much seemed right, based on what All Might said.

If Katsuki hadn't been paired up with Yurei, he'd ditch her and go fight, anyway. It would be extra fighting practice.

_Why does it matter if we're partnered up?_

As he debated his options, thinking particularly hard about this, he was annoyed at difficult it was to make the decision. He should just leave her.

Even if she got bit, she would be fine.

Then, she started to stir, and he let out a sigh of relief. She reached for her head, face contorting in pain.

"That asshole. I can't believe that idiot is here." Yurei groaned, and sat upright.

"Which one?" Katsuki asked.

"He causes headaches. Apparently he's gotten good enough to knock them out." She said, seeming to still be in pain. "Or maybe I'm just a wimp. What happened after I was knocked out?"

"Momentum was there. He fucked up my shoulder." Katsuki said, and she suddenly looked up at him, and then to his shoulder.

"Damn. That looks bad." Yurei said, and leaned in closer, careful not to touch him. "That looks dislocated. That's going to leave a bruise."

"I can still fight, my right arm will just be limited." Katsuki said, and they heard the ceiling quake.

A big fight was taking place. He guessed that it was Momentum against Deku, based on the sound of the impact and how they moved through the building, smashing walls to dust.

"We should put your arm in a sling, to avoid it moving around." Yurei said, and started to take her jacket off. Unlike him, her outfit was still mostly in tact.

Katsuki was quiet as he watched her work, knowing from their limited time together that she had a lot of first aid experience. She kept cringing, though, and the light seemed to bother her. Her hands shook as she moved.

She looked tired, and possibly had a concussion.

"They're refusing our demands." Shouto spoke into the radio.

"Then release the zombies. Take down the ice blocking the exits." Momentum replied.

"Then how do we get the money?" Shouto asked.

"They'll need to set up a perimeter to contain the virus. We still have the bomb, we'll just be talking to different people about getting the money." Momentum said.

Yurei paused, holding her head as her body curled over.

She'd made the sling, just hadn't applied it yet.

"We could just take a nap." Katsuki pointed out.

"We should move to a safer location." Yurei said, took a shaky breath, and sat up again. She hooked the sling over his head, and very carefully and gently, started to move his arm into it. Even though it hurt, he tried not to react.

"Where'd you learn all of this first aid?" Katsuki asked.

"I got some of my training in America. Their healthcare system is trash, but the people were nice. There were a few people that taught me how to handle people." Yurei said, and once the sling was secure, she curled up again, her hands covering her face.

"Can you use your quirks right now?" Katsuki asked.

"Briefly, maybe. I can get us out of here, but-"

Part of the ceiling suddenly cracked and caved, something smashing into the room, and the blow back sent them falling off of the bed.

He fell into his arm, and grit in pain.

A second thing fell into the room, and they were bigger.

Katsuki covered Yurei with his body as the blowback sent the bed flying, thankfully not smashing into them. The bed propped at an angle, covering them with the blankets and creating a shield for them.

There was grunting and the smashing of flesh against flesh, sending more shock waves through the room. Yurei shifted and reached for the back of his neck, just before a particularly powerful shock wave hit.

Everything went dark as they phased through the walls, and then, there was light.

He looked up, finding that they were now surrounded by zombies outside.

Yurei's grip loosened.

He quickly moved to his feet, and punched the nearest zombie, sending them flying.

That got the attention of the rest.

"Blue Hair Girl, get the fuck up." Katsuki told her, but she didn't move. He kicked and hit the nearest zombies, and then, a massive shock wave came from the International Building, knocking most of the zombies over.

Katsuki quickly knelt down, got her onto his shoulder, and ran down the street. He kicked any zombies that got too close, knocking them down with ease and staying aware of the big fight taking place down the street.

He was about to turn into a building, when something caught his foot. He used his explosion quirk to keep from falling over, and looked down, only to realize that he stepped on one of Mineta's balls.

They were everywhere.

"Blue Hair Girl, wake the fuck up." Katsuki said, and jostled her. "Blue Hair Girl."

No response.

"Yurei." He said instead, and she groaned. "Phase us, I stepped onto one of Mineta's dumb balls."

His breathing stopped, feeling them phase, and they started to move. Whenever she did this, he had no control over their movements.

She took them to the left, into the nearest building, and then solidified as soon as they were inside.

The zombies were coming for them.

Katsuki started moving again, going to higher ground.

2.

Day 32, Tuesday, 2:45 PM

Katsuki was tempted to let Yurei get bitten. She'd, ironically, be safer that way. She'd be stronger, durable, and less likely to get hit.

They were on the roof of the building, zombies trying to get them, and he couldn't do anything except run while carrying her.

That quirk really messed with her head, or she got hit at some point in their escape.

_Even if I did ditch her, Mineta's stupid balls are everywhere. Piece of shit._

If she fucking woke up, they could team up again. They could coordinate phasing in and out, so that he could deal hits with his good arm but not take damage.

"Why am I being carried by a half naked person…?" Yurei groaned.

He shifted, letting her fall to the ground. The fall wasn't gentle, but he was tired of carrying her.

"Wake the fuck up, or I'm ditching you. You're dead weight." Katsuki told her.

"Then why didn't you leave me before? And how's your arm?" Yurei asked as she sat up, holding her head again and pouting. There was a lot of dirt smeared on her cheeks and her braided hair was a messy fray.

"Your sling is holding up pretty well." Katsuki replied.

"... I think I can phase, but I'm not sure about my emotions quirk. I can probably cause brief changes in emotion, but not long term." Yurei said.

"I have Ghost and Ground Zero in my line of sight. Should I shoot?" Someone asked in their earpiece, and they looked around in bewilderment, searching for the source.

Yurei grabbed his ankle.

"Make sure to hit Ghost first. Zero is useless without her."

They fell through the ground.

… to the floor of zombies.

They kept going down to the main floor, then, their direction changed, and they ended up in a different building at a base garage.

"_Zero is useless without her."_

Katsuki clenched his fist.

"I'm the one half conscious, but you're the useless one?" Yurei scoffed on the ground.

"You do what you want. I'm going to go fight." Katsuki said.

"My emotions quirk isn't going to work, which puts me at a disadvantage. I'd be better put to use aiding you in a fight than going on my own. We'll take down more people working together." Yurei said, and he watched her move to stand.

She was pretty out of it, swaying considerably and nearly falling over.

"Just stay out of the way. You're weak right now." Katsuki told her.

She took some deep breaths.

"My phasing quirk is fine. I'll try to go find whoever spotted us and take them out, so you don't have to worry about long-ranged fighters." Yurei said, and before he could argue with her, she was gone.

_She needs to train her body more._ Katsuki thought tiredly.

Part of him worried about her, concerned that she would get hurt out there, but he shoved that concern down.

He had zombies to kill.

3.

Day 32, Tuesday, 2:50 PM

After taking out the sniper, she used his scope to look around the area.

More bombs on rooftops. There were snipers and other people guarding them. She seemed to be on the tallest building, so she could look at them, but not the other way around.

_If I set off all the bombs, will this scenario be over?_ She wondered.

Another wave of pain washed over her, and she tried to ignore it, but her body crumbled again.

"_Just stay out of the way. You're weak right now."_

She grit her teeth. _I'm not a goddamn victim. I'm not weak. I can annihilate all of you._

"Halo, have you taken out Ghost and Zero?" A voice spoke, but not from her headset.

She looked at the unconscious person near her.

She had to reach over to use her quirk again, to keep him knocked out, and then started to search him. After a few seconds, she found another radio.

"Halo, what's your status?"

"He has narcolepsy, dude, just give him a minute. I see Bakugou right now, and he's going after the zombies. I think he's alone. When I saw Ghost, she seemed to be in pretty bad shape, so it looks like Bakugou took the bait and bailed on her." Someone spoke over the radio.

Yurei looked at the guys' clothes.

He was wearing a helmet, leather jacket, and jeans. He seemed close to her size.

"Haaaaloooo, wake up, dude."

Yurei phased off his helmet and jacket, putting it on, and then stood next to the gun. One person on another building gave him a thumbs up, and she thumbs upped, next.

"He just thumbs upped me. He's probably a little groggy. He'll be okay in a few minutes."

She got his pants off, too, leaving him in just boxers and a t-shirt. She phased him to the lowest level, by the door, where she saw a zombie wandering past. After getting the zombie's attention, she went back up to the roof.

Yurei stayed low as she changed into his jeans, and clipped the radio to her belt.

Then, she looked around at the other bombs in the vicinity.

Her head started to hurt again.

"Yo boss, should we take out Bakugou? I have a clear shot." Someone spoke over the radio.

"He's busy with the zombies. If he gets too close to the international building, then shoot him."

She looked over the edge, finding that Katsuki was punching people left and right. Even with just one arm, he was effective.

Yurei looked at the items around her, particularly the bullets. They seemed to be shock pellets.

_Probably enough to knock someone out without hurting them. Probably hurts like a bitch, though._

This seemed to be the only roof without a bomb. This was probably just an observation/back up station.

She looked back to the sniper rifle on the roof edge, and looked through the scope. Hesitantly, she reached around for the trigger, hoping that she was doing it right.

Her head started to hurt again, so she gripped the edge of the roof, taking deep breaths until it passed.

She didn't remember that guy's quirk being so powerful.

_I probably hit my head at some point._

Suddenly seeing red in her right eye, she moved back, took off her helmet and glove, and touched her forehead, finding blood. She winced when she felt a gash above her hairline.

She put the helmet back on.

"I'm not fucking useless." Yurei grumbled, and got back into position. Katsuki had gone passed her building, and was getting close to the international building.

Yurei aimed for one of the people on the other buildings, a student guarding one of the bombs, and shot. The kickback was muted by the stand, but still hurt her shoulder. She had to shift to brace herself better.

She missed.

Her target looked around in shock, and she shot again, this time hitting him. He convulsed and fell. She turned to the sniper on that roof, firing multiple shots while he frantically tried to turn and shoot her back.

"Halo is shooting on friendlies!" Someone on the radio announced, and the cement roof around her started getting hit as all snipers targeted her.

She tried to stay focused, but her head kept hurting, and her aim was shit.

One of the bullets ricocheted off her helmet, and the force caused her to fall back, her body colliding with the ground.

Then, as she looked up, she saw fire.

… and a giant gray thing about to smash her to pieces.

"Thanks for luring the asshole back out!" Katsuki yelled as he launched through the air with a crazed look on his face, and with his good arm, tried to hit the enemy with his blasts.

His hit landed, causing the gray villain to change direction mid air, going to the other corner of the roof instead of Yurei's.

Katsuki was about to charge him again, when suddenly, his back was hit by something, and electricity danced along his skin.

He fell to his knees, glaring at the gray villain, and struggled to stay upright.

"You two were a little too confident. Trying to take over the building a second time, without surveying the surrounding area first, had been foolish." Momentum said, his voice deep and foreboding.

"I'm still going to kick your ass." Katsuki said.

She looked closer at him, and realized that his head had been hit at some point, too. There was a lot of blood on his head, trailing down his neck and sweating flesh.

Yurei sat up, moving against the sudden nausea, grabbed the rifle, and phased it off of its holster.

When she turned, she saw that Momentum was coming after her, but Katsuki was charging at him, screaming "YOU'RE FIGHTING ME, YOU DUMB GRAY BLOB!"

While he distracted him, Yurei shifted, aiming the gun at Momentum.

Katsuki, having only one arm, did a good job of trying to land hits and avoiding them. At one point he jumped away, getting distance, and Yurei shot at Momentum, hitting him.

Her shoulder cracked loudly from the powerful kick, and she cried out in pain, the sound mixing with the sound of the shot.

Then, something smacked against her helmet, ricocheting off and breaking the glass.

_Thank god for helmets._

"I've got this asshole, you aim at the other assholes." Katsuki shouted at her.

He rushed him again.

Katsuki was good at distracting, at least, with his screaming and explosions. If Momentum dropped his guard, Katsuki could land a serious hit. While he kept them busy, Yurei shifted, trying to hook the rifle back onto the thing it was on before, and just as she did, she started getting shot at again.

Her head started to hurt again.

Double vision.

Nausea kept creeping up her throat; she had to gulp down the bile that threatened to come up. She looked through the scope, trying to aim, and fired.

That hurt like hell, and missed again, but she kept trying.

Then, she thought of a different plan, which her shoulder would hate her for later.

She looked behind her, at Katsuki, just as Momentum smacked him down, causing Katsuki's body to collide with the side of the building and fall off the edge.

Yurei moved fast, going through the floor and walls, and midfall, she jumped from the wall and caught him, so that when he hit the ground, it didn't hurt him.

She brought him to one of the other buildings, making sure they weren't seen, and laid him down.

The sling had fallen off, and he was covered in bruises, sweat, and blood. Breathing hard, barely conscious, and he tried to sit upright, but then fell back down.

"Take a breather." Yurei instructed.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to focus on the other assholes." He glared at her.

"I'm not a good enough shot from far away. I was planning to take the rifle and get them up close." Yurei told him.

"Then do that. I'll keep Momentum busy." Katsuki said, and pushed himself to his feet.

"This class isn't worth brain damage. You can stay here while I-" She paused, her head hurting again, and she focused on her breathing.

"I'm not going to sit around on my ass while you do all the work. While I distract everyone, you take them out with the gun. Those pellets pack one hell of a punch, so you need to take those snipers out quick, before they hit me too many more times." Katsuki said.

After a few seconds, she nodded.

"Let's finish this." Katsuki told her.

"Alright." Yurei said, and phased through the floor, going back to the roof for the gun.

Momentum didn't notice her as he looked down at the street, where her and Katsuki had originally disappeared.

As they planned, while Katsuki fought off Momentum and kept everyone's attention on him, Yurei went around and took out the snipers and people guarding the bombs. Once that was done, she checked on Katsuki, finding that he was on the street, exhausted, and about to collapse with zombies descending on him.

Momentum was standing on the rooftop again, watching him.

Yurei moved quickly, getting there just before zombie Ochaco bit into him. She took him over to one of the buildings again, to check in.

He fell to his knees, breathing hard, and seemed on the verge of passing out.

Yurei spoke into security's radios, "If any of our allies are on this channel, all of the people guarding the bombs in the surrounding buildings are down. The bomb in the international building is safely hidden."

"We hear you, and we have a bomb expert with us. We're taking them to the bombs to deactivate them, and forces have already started coming in to help deescalate the situation." Deku replied, and Yurei let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Katsuki and I were injured pretty badly, so we won't be able to help much from here." Yurei replied.

"How badly are you hurt?" Deku asked.

"I hit my head pretty bad at some point. Katsuki got hit… everywhere, a lot." Yurei said, and Katsuki sent her a glare. He seemed to have lost his radios in the fight. "He also lost most of his clothes in the fight."

"Oi." Katsuki said, unable to muster up the energy to say or do anything else. His body jerked as he sat back on his heels, still breathing hard.

"So that's what you two have been doing this entire time." Hanta said, and she grunted, turning away from Katsuki.

"You can go fuck yourself, Hanta. Did you assholes do anything today? We-" Yurei started to say, but then lifted her helmet up and puked.

She fell over, and laid down on the ground, groaning.

As her vision went blurry again, Katsuki reached for her radio. She relaxed as she stared up at the cement ceiling, her mind fuzzy and light-headed.

"We need a medic over here, Blue Hair Girl split her head open at some point. She was bleeding under her helmet so I didn't see it before." Katsuki said above her.

"You're bleeding a lot too, idiot." Yurei said, and tried to reach up to touch his nose, but he kept multiplying. "Stop multiplying so that I touch your nose."

He reached out, grabbing her wrist, and at first she thought he was going to shove her away. Then, instead, he brought the tip of her index finger to his nose.

"Aizawa said that they're sending some medics to our location." Katsuki said.

"Thank you for letting me touch your nose." Yurei said, and saw him smile.

"If you hadn't taken me away from the fight, I could have beaten Momentum." Katsuki told her.

"How are you not unconscious? You got hit a lot more than me." Yurei asked with a frown.

"I'm a lot more durable. You have trouble lifting potatoes." Katsuki pointed out, and she did her best to glare.

"I was trying to make Mina look good." Yurei said, and she lost the energy in her arm to keep it up, but Katsuki kept her hand there, keeping a tight hold on her wrist.

"No, you weren't. You need to work out more." He told her.

"Mirio was supposed to train with me, but, uh…." Yurei said, and tried to remember why that didn't work out.

"You spent your time partying instead." Katsuki told her.

"No, it was a different reason. I'm responsible." Yurei replied.

"Uh-huh."

4.

Day 33, Wednesday, 8:50 AM

The next morning, Katsuki felt pretty good as he strolled into class.

Most of the students inside were in bandages, suffering because of him. He got to beat the shit out of students from not only his school, but three others, too. Plus, he went toe to toe with a pro hero after beating all of these wimps.

"Fuck off." Hanta told him in the front row.

Katsuki just kept smirking as he went to his usual seat, plopped down, and propped his feet up on the empty seat in front of him.

Most people were glowering and glaring at him.

"Yesterday was so much fun! I wish that you had been paired up with me, Yurei. You could have joined us in the love octagon!" Mina exclaimed from the front of the class.

"Maybe then I wouldn't have got hit in the head so hard. Recovery Girl only healed my head, not anything else, since she was healing so many people. Everything hurts." Yurei whined as she walked with Mina.

"Well yeah, that's what happens when you pair up with Bakugou." Mina said.

"Oi, what are you complaining about? No one even got close to hitting you yesterday." Katsuki asked Yurei, who was shouldering her bag in a weird way.

"I hurt my shoulder firing off that sniper rifle, and I got knocked around a lot. I'm sore." Yurei told him with a pout.

"You are such a wimp. You'd be in a lot more pain if I hadn't blocked Momentum from kicking you." Katsuki told her.

"Is that how you hurt your shoulder?" Yurei asked, and Katsuki tensed.

"Did Bakugou protect you!?" Mina asked in a weird, high-pitched voice.

"Oi, while you losers were busy professing your love to each other and shit, Blue Hair Girl and I were actually getting shit done. We did so good at the beginning, All Might asked us to hold back for the second half of the day." Katsuki told her, recovering from his brief embarrassment.

"Then why didn't you join us for the love octagons!?" Mina asked Yurei.

"I wanted to help Katsuki beat up my old classmates. Those guys are dicks." Yurei answered, and sat down behind him.

"Not all of them were bad. Mintsi was cute." Mina said.

"She's a terrible human being. My only regret is that I didn't make more of my old classmates vomit yesterday." Yurei complained, and then glared at Mina. "It's your fault that Mintsi hit me with that dumb headache quirk. It hurt so bad I fell unconscious."

"You knocked me out before that." Mina pointed out.

"Painlessly. That headache really hurt." Yurei whined, then nudged the back of Katsuki's seat with her foot. "How is your shoulder doing?"

"It's fine." Katsuki replied, and then cringed in pain when she nudged it with her foot. He'd left his sling at his room to make it look like he hadn't gotten any injuries, and she was ruining that.

"You two were waaaay too effective. You didn't follow the script at all." Mina whined.

"We followed the script up until our charge was turned into a zombie." Yurei told her.

"And then you were supposed to either be turned into zombies or fight the guards at the end of the hallway! You did neither!" Mina yelled at her.

"Yeah. I figured, and I was kinda pissed when I saw zombie guy, so I decided to take the most destructive route possible to win." Yurei said.

"You two were ridiculous! Ugh!" Mina groaned loudly.

"You assholes are showing your face today?" Eijirou asked as he strolled in, and Katsuki smirked at his playful glare.

Eijirou's arm was bandaged.

"Oh my gosh!" Mina suddenly exclaimed, and they all looked at her. Her face went pale as she stared at her phone.

Yurei started to look over, and Mina quickly pulled her phone away.

"It's nothing! I just- I thought I saw a spider on my phone! Hahahaha!" Mina laughed awkwardly.

"Mintsi messaged you, didn't she?" Yurei asked with a deadpan voice.

"Whaaaat? Of course not! No!" Mina replied, being a painfully bad liar.

"Whatever." Yurei muttered.

"It's not like that! I just… I thought she would be fun, so we exchanged numbers, and I asked what she… well, what she thought about you, and I," Mina stammered awkwardly.

"You can make friends with whoever you want, Mina, you don't have to justify yourself." Yurei said, and started getting out her class supplies.

"I'm sorry, Yurei." Mina said in a lower voice.

Yurei didn't say anything.

"You okay, Yurei?" Eijirou asked.

"Fine." Yurei said stiffly.

"Hey, did you hear about the love octagon?" Eijirou asked her.

"Yeah." Yurei replied in a flat tone.

Katsuki and Eijirou exchanged a look, wondering what was going on, and Katsuki shrugged.

"You're not drinking coffee this morning." Eijirou commented.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

"I'm sorry, Yurei." Mina said in a low voice again.

Yurei didn't say anything, and was unusually quiet as she went through Monday's notes.

"I kicked your ass yesterday." Katsuki said, addressing Eijirou.

"You're such a freak, Bakugou. You were terrifying yesterday. You and Yurei. I overheard that you have a beef with your old classmates, Yurei. You…" Eijirou said, but stopped when Mina made a gesture across her throat, indicating for him to stop.

The room quieted, and Katsuki cast one last glance at Yurei before turning around.

Her old classmates seemed to be a sore topic. She'd been ruthless against them yesterday, though, and he liked seeing someone else pissed off and terrifying every once in a while.

5.

Day 33, Wednesday, 11:15 AM

After class, Yurei felt bad for ignoring Mina.

She'd apologize to her later, after she calmed down.

6.

Day 33, Wednesday, 1:00 PM

The teacher was late to her psychology class. He was usually here early.

Everyone in class was talking about yesterday's events. Some of them tried to engage in conversation with her, saying how cool her quirk had been, but she slipped out of their conversations quickly.

Overhearing some of their discussions was fun, though. There were a lot of plot lines, themes, and character backgrounds that she and Katsuki missed from ignoring them and taking naps. Hearing the aftermath was a lot more interesting than having listened to it, though.

Deku was excitedly chatting with the people behind them, explaining how he and Tenya worked together to ultimately "win" yesterday, and the intense fights they'd faced.

Yurei's phone vibrated, and she pulled it out, since the teacher wasn't there yet.

_K. Bakugou: Why were you weird last class?_

Yurei looked over at him, across the room. He kept his eyes on his phone, acting casual.

_Me: None of your business._

She definitely wouldn't tell him, of all people. She let out a sigh, and looked up at the chalkboard, wishing that class was already done. Studying "Victim Psychology" felt a little too close to home.

Her phone vibrated again.

_K. Bakugou: We won yesterday. Why the hell are you whiny?_

Her eye twitched.

_Me: Are you seriously lecturing me on my attitude?_

She looked over at him, and froze, not expecting such a scathing glare from him. Usually she wasn't as intimidated by his glares, but something about this one was particularly unnerving. He looked almost demonic with his dark red eyes and half shadowed face from his bangs. _Why the hell is he looking at me like that?_

"Why is Ka-chan staring at you like that?" Deku asked behind her.

"I don't know, but I'm kind of terrified." Yurei replied, unable to look away.

"Maybe he's mad that he didn't beat up enough people yesterday. You did take out a lot of people yesterday, Yurei…. He's probably upset that you stole his thunder." Mashirao said nearby.

Everyone around her jumped in alarm.

Fear came from all around her.

Katsuki had abruptly stood up, stalked over to her, and grabbed the back of her shirt, roughly trying to drag her to her feet, but she made her shirt faze through his hand.

She stood, keeping her face emotionless, and faced him.

His face was absolutely terrifying. Her emotions quirk was still a little weird from the previous day, so the emotions around her were a bit hazy, and she couldn't read him well.

Just stare into that terrifying face.

He nodded his head to the door.

"... I guess text me when the teacher gets here, Deku?" Yurei requested, and walked towards the door. Katsuki stalked out behind her, and they walked down the hallway, and outside, to a little area not far from the entrance to the building.

On the plus side, when the teacher arrives, they would see them.

"So what's your deal?" Yurei asked.

His fists were clenched, and shaking.

"Is Mashirao right? Did you not get to beat up enough people yesterday?" Yurei asked.

"No." Katsuki replied.

"Then what? You were cocky and shit when I got to class this morning. You seemed happy, which is rare for you." Yurei asked.

He didn't reply.

"We have class, Katsuki, and I can't afford to miss any more classes after last week. I'm not a mind reader, so either tell me why you're upset, or I'm going back to class." Yurei snapped at him.

"We won yesterday." He said in a low voice. "We beat everyone. We won."

"Yeah. So?" Yurei asked.

"I beat half the school with my fists and you knocked them out before they saw you coming. Why the hell aren't you gloating? Why the hell aren't you happy?" Katsuki asked.

"It was an assignment. That's it." Yurei said.

"That wasn't just an assignment." Katsuki replied.

"It was for me." Yurei said, and he gaped at her, as if struggling to figure out a way to argue with her. "We got a good grade. That was it."

"That's bullshit. I saw that look in your eye. You were thrilled to take revenge on your old classmates yesterday. That wasn't just an assignment for you; you easily could have just knocked them out, but you made them sick. You made them suffer." Katsuki told her.

Yurei tried to walk off, but her grabbed her uninjured shoulder, and shoved her into the wall.

"Don't you walk away from me." Katsuki told her.

She glared, and used her phasing quirk to move away, going through his hand.

She went back to class.

He didn't.

7.

February 7th, Wednesday, 11:00 PM

That night, after her shift, she was relieved to get outside.

The cool air felt nice on her skin. Her muscles ached from the previous day, and her morning class soured her mood. Then Katsuki….

A frown tugged at her lips, and her chest tightened painfully. He wouldn't react well if he found out about what happened at her old school. Katsuki was so violent, and had that dumb, macho thing. He always needed to win.

At the moment, he seemed to respect her. At the very least, she was someone that could help him beat up other people, so she was neutral in his mind. She wasn't someone to challenge or fight, just someone that could help him reach his goal.

… he trusted her.

If he found out about _that_ though… she wasn't sure how his perception of her would change. She thought back to Tuna, and her old classmates. Seeing so many people turn on her, betray her so suddenly, especially from people training to be heroes, of all people… that hurt her deeply. Everyone had turned against her.

Mina knew, now. Yurei wished that her mom being a pornstar was the worst thing in her life to worry about.

She brought her sleeve to her eyes, drying up the tears that threatened to fall, and pulled out her phone.

_Me: Sorry for this morning. It was a sore topic, and I'm still tired from yesterday._ Yurei texted to Mina.

"Yu Yu!" A familiar voice cheered, and she looked up, watching as Mirio approached her with wide arms. He scooped her up into a hug, picking her up off her feet, and then set her down.

"Hey, cousin." Yurei replied.

"I heard a lot about you today. Apparently you went all out yesterday." Mirio said with a smile.

"Yeah." Yurei said, and tried to smile, but he was perceptive.

"What's going on?" Mirio asked.

She looked at his shoulder, remembering Mina's expression and tone when she found out. Her chest ached at the memory.

"Some of the people from yesterday were classmates from my old school." Yurei said in a low voice.

"Are you afraid of people here finding out? Did they say anything?" Mirio asked.

"They told Mina."

"I'm sure that she still likes you, Yu Yu. She doesn't seem like the type of person to judge based on that. If she stayed your best friend through finding out about your mom's old job, she'll be able to get over this, too." Mirio told her.

Yurei had known that she couldn't keep this hidden forever.

Until that day, though… she hadn't cared as much.

She hadn't gotten to know the students here so well, yet. Now… the idea of them finding out scared her.

"Why don't you tell me about the cool things you did yesterday, though? I heard that you and Bakugou really made a big bang. I heard that Momentum was really impressed by you two." Mirio said.

She let out another tired sigh.

"I feel kind of shitty, honestly. I haven't been getting as many work hours as I wanted because of the thing yesterday and dad getting shot last week. I'd just like to go home and sleep." Yurei said.

"Can I walk you back to the dorms?" Mirio asked.

She shrugged, and started to walk.

She hated how much she cried lately.

8.

February 7th, Wednesday, 11:00 PM

That night, Katsuki rolled his eyes again.

Eijirou and Mina were disgusting.

Mina was on Eijirou's lap, discussing Valentines Day plans and going over, excitedly, cute stories she had heard from other people.

Katsuki was close to puking.

"What's wrong?" Eijirou suddenly asked.

Katsuki kept his attention on his psychology textbook.

"Yurei texted me… she apologized for this morning." Mina said in a sad voice.

Katsuki grit his teeth, recalling that infuriating morning.

"Whatever happened at her last school must have been really bad." Eijirou commented.

"What Mintsi told me was pretty bad. Yurei told me that they were spreading rumors about her, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. It makes me wonder what really happened. I know something happened between her and Ikari, but I'm afraid to ask." Mina explained.

The main doors opened, and Katsuki looked up, seeing Yurei enter.

Mirio was with her.

Neither of them looked at the group, who quietly watched as they went up to Yurei's room.

9.

February 8th, Thursday, 6:00 AM

Yurei continued sipping her coffee at next morning's class.

They were set up in a small room with a projector screen. A lot of their teachers, plus Momentum, were there to give feedback.

Katsuki kept giving her stink eye, and she couldn't figure out why he was so upset.

"You all did great yesterday, as expected!" All Might told them, and pulled up an image of Deku mid run, about to fight Momentum on the screen. "We put together some of what we thought were the most impressive moments from last class, along with some constructive feedback. We also ranked every pairing in the class based on teamwork, their ability to follow the assignment, portrayal of their character, effectiveness, thinking on their feet, and a variety of other factors."

A list of names appeared on the screen.

Yurei and Katsuki were at the top. Momo and Shouto were second. Mina and Yugo were third.

Mina raised her hand.

"I thought you said we were ranked on how well we portrayed our character and stuff? Yurei and Bakugou just beat people up and hid. They didn't interact with any other character. When we were playing our parts, they were going off script." Mina asked.

Aizawa was the one to answer. "They followed their given assignment until they were no longer able to, and improvised. Unlike the rest of the class, they considered their occupation to be more important than their extra personality traits or familial ties. Their characters were also designed to be much more rigid than yours and some of the others, which required more whimsicalness. However, some of you were given characters that were also supposed to be more consistently serious, like Midoria and Tenya."

"Eh?" Deku stiffened.

"In other words, some of you had a little too much fun with theatrics, and that got in the way of your objective." Kayama summarized.

"All of you did excellent overall. Bakugou and Kasai were ranked highest because of their teamwork, ability to adapt, and exceed our expectations." All Might said.

"All Bakugou did was beat people up." Denki pointed out.

"But he did so in a coordinated effort with his work partner. While everyone else was focusing on small fights and drama, Bakugou took down the muscle and drew everyone's attention, while Kasai hid the bomb, put the prince she was hired to protect in a safe location, and procured the rest of the building. In a real life situation, they probably would have made contact with neighboring law enforcement to assist them, and kept the situation under control. They were the only ones to consistently keep their cool and stay focused on the enemy." All Might explained.

They went on to talk about each team independently, going in a random order. They were given general feedback, ways to improve, and had pictures and videos to show them what they meant. Sometimes they just had "cool clips" at the end, so that the class could collectively "ooh" and "aah".

Yurei felt nauseous every time she saw an old classmate on the screen.

She wanted it to be done.

"Bakugou and Kasai." All Might said, and a picture of them filled the screen.

Katsuki was standing on his pile of bodies, and Yurei was crouched down to the side. Both of them were staring at the door.

"Bakugou," Aizawa started, and went off to explain the complex fighting techniques he had successfully done. "You also worked on holding back when necessary, which is a positive change for you. Knowing when to fight and when to hold back is an important trait for a hero to have."

"I was particularly impressed with the way you and your partner protected each other." Momentum said, and then pulled up a couple of videos. One was of Yurei taking out some long range quirk users that were about to attack Katsuki, and the other was of that hallway, when Katsuki got kicked protecting her.

Her stomach churned as she watched his body fly, and she lay there, vulnerable and defenseless while a mountain of muscle prepared to kill her. Beneath her desk, she gripped her thigh, hard, digging her nails into her jeans. Nausea threatened to take hold.

Katsuki quickly moved, grabbing her around the waist, and was gone in a blur.

"Bakugou would have been taken out very quickly if Kasai wasn't taking out the long range fighters, or slowing them down. Kasai would have been seriously injured if that kick had landed. And, at the end," Momentum spoke, and showed video of the last fight.

Katsuki was going all out against Momentum, and it was actually impressive to watch.

To the casual eye, the side video of her taking out the people guarding the bombs was impressive, but she could see her fumbles and mistakes.

"Yurei, you look like such a bad ass!" Mina said, and the others agreed.

"Both of you were so intense." Deku said with stars in his eyes.

As Yurei looked around, most of them were in awe of the video. Even Katsuki had a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

"Damn, Bakugou!"

"You look so cool, Yurei!"

Then, at the end of the videos, they went to a picture.

Her eyes went wide in horror.

She was laying on the ground, blood all over her face, in front of Katsuki, with her arm up. Katsuki's hand was on her wrist, holding her index finger against the tip of his nose.

They were both smiling at each other, looking strangely serene and calm, despite all the blood.

If it wasn't so embarrassing, she'd say it was adorable.

"We were concussed." Yurei stated as the entire class "aaw"d at them.

"All of you can fuck off and die!" Katsuki yelled at them.

"But it's so cute! I didn't know you were capable of smiling!" Kayama said.

"Shut up!" Katsuki shouted, hands sparking in anger, and the room filled with laughter.

"Moving on." Momentum said with a hint of a smile, and switched to a picture of one of her old classmates about to vomit. "I was intrigued by the way you went about knocking your victims out, Kasai. Instead of just knocking them all out, you induced nausea in some of your victims first, and then went back to keep them unconscious with your quirk. How did you select who you made nauseous and you didn't?"

"I used to go to school with them." Yurei said simply.

"Ah. Well, I was still impressed by how quickly and efficiently you were able to move through the building and be so efficient…." Momentum said, and went on to describe a few more things he was impressed by.

"If this had been real, you could have lost valuable support and intel from not working with your other security members more closely. Even though you two worked well together, you didn't work well with everyone else." Aizawa said, and went on to list a few things they could have done to make it smoother.

10.

February 8th, Thursday, 8:15 AM

Momentum asked to talk to her after class, so she held back while the others left.

Everyone was talking about each other, about the clips they'd seen, and how they were excited to improve.

"You did a good job, Kasai." All Might said, and the other teachers echoed his sentiments as they left.

"I'm surprised that you're not more happy with how the class went. You received a lot of praise for a job well done." Momentum commented.

"I didn't really care about the assignment. Honestly, I almost set off the bombs early so that I could go home." Yurei admitted in a deadpan voice, and he chuckled. "What did you want to talk about?"

He let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders falling slightly, and he suddenly became very somber. He seemed nervous.

"I'm not really sure how to ask you this, really." Momentum said, and glanced at the door, as if tempted to leave instead. "I… well, I heard about what happened to you at your last school. My niece went through something similar, but she hasn't been doing as well as you."

Yurei tensed, and bit the inside of her cheek.

"I'm worried about her, and I don't really know how to help her. She's a year younger than you, and won't tell anyone who hurt her. I have suspicions, but she won't confirm any of them. She's too ashamed and scared." Momentum explained.

"... are you asking me for advice?" Yurei asked.

"... I was wondering if there was any way that you could talk to her. I know that it would be a lot to ask, and we only just met the other day, but I think that if she saw someone who was like her, someone that was hurt, be so strong and powerful, that she might become strong enough to tell us who hurt her, so that we can help her." Momentum explained.

She started to taste copper in her mouth.

"You don't have to decide now, either." Momentum said, and pulled out his business card. She took it, and read over the shiney blue ink. "You can text me at that number, or email me. If you did this, I'd be grateful. I don't know how else to help her."

… she wasn't really sure what to say.

Yurei wouldn't exactly classify herself as a great example of 'how to cope with rape.'

She hated that that was such a big part of her life, now. Just another victim.

"Also, not related to this, I'm going to make a formal invite through your school for an internship at my agency. I'm sure that you already have a lot, after what happened at the H.T.S. raid, but we'd love to have you. You're already a great hero, and I have no doubt that you're going to become a better one someday." Momentum said.

There was an awkward silence.

"I need to get to class." Yurei said awkwardly.

"I'm sorry for keeping you, thanks for staying and talking. Have a good day." Momentum said awkwardly, and she turned to leave, going back to looking at the business card in her hand.

She put the card in her wallet, and went out for food. She was still eating a lot from the other day.

11.

February 8th, Thursday, 8:20 AM

Katsuki bit into his sandwich and sent a glare at Eijirou, who kept giving him weird fucking looks.

"What?" Katsuki asked him.

"... you just seem weird." Eijirou said.

"You're one to talk." Katsuki retorted, and went back to eating.

Then, he noticed that everyone else at the table had a slight smile on their faces.

"What the fuck are you assholes smiling about?" Katsuki asked.

"That picture of you and Yurei was fucking adorable." Denki said with a snicker.

Katsuki kicked him hard under the table, and Denki cried out in pain.

"Yesterday, you were all high and mighty about kicking our asses, but ever since Yurei started acting weird, you've been acting weird, too. Did something happen between you two?" Eijirou asked.

"Oh yeah, what happened after you took her outside yesterday? Why didn't you come back to class?" Mashirao asked.

"None of your fucking business." Katsuki said with narrowed eyes.

"Did you two have a fight?" Eijirou asked.

"I'm about to have a fight with you if you don't shut up." Katsuki told him, and went back to eating his sandwich.

Yurei's dumb weirdness had spread to him. He _should_ be gloating about winning the other day, of completely annihilating everyone and winning, but all he could think about was Yurei's face when Mina got that text.

She looked so upset, and he couldn't get it out of his head.

They fucking won, but she had to be all fucking depressed because of a stupid text, and now he couldn't be happy because he kept thinking about her stupid face being sad.

"So what are you guys doing for Valentines Day?" Eijirou asked the guys across from him.

"It's on a weekday, and it's a dumb holiday anyway, so probably nothing." Hanta replied.

"We could do something small at the commons with the girls. Maybe do another movie night." Mashirao suggested.

"I was thinking of going out to the clubs. There will probably be a lot of sad, drunk girls looking for some love." Denki said.

Katsuki kicked him again. Denki cried out in pain and held his shin, sending a teary eyed glare his way.

"If we do a movie night, do you want to join us, Bakugou?" Mashirao asked.

Katsuki shrugged indifferently. "Depends on the movie."

12.

February 8th, Thursday, 10:00 AM

At her next class, Katsuki was still glaring at her.

13.

February 9th, Friday, 10:00 PM

The next night, their dorm had a small party.

There were drinks to go around, but instead of blasting music and chugging alcohol, they got into groups and played games. Some people came and went from the kitchen, grabbing snacks, while others stayed with the group.

Katsuki was still giving her fucking stink eye.

Yurei sat next to Mina on the couch, slowly drinking her hard cider, and didn't plan to drink too much that night. She was still sore from the other day, and she was planning to visit her dad in the hospital in the morning.

"Tsu! Truth or dare!" Ochaco asked with a bubbly grin.

"Dare." Tsu said.

"Take a shot." Ochaco said, and Tsu gave her a slight glare.

One of the common dares was to take a shot. None of the dares or questions had been very intense; most of them were silly dance moves and variations of "what's your favorite color?"

"Denki, truth or dare?" Tsu asked.

"Truth." Denki replied.

"Why do you want to be a hero?" Tsu asked.

"So that I can save people." Denki said simply, but his emotions shifted ever so slightly. Something about the question touched something deep. "Bakugou, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Bakugou answered.

He always chose dare.

"Take a shot." Denki replied.

Bakugou poured himself a shot of flavored vodka, and downed it with ease. He didn't bother with a chaser; then, leaned back in his chair, one that he had gotten from the dining area, and locked eyes with Yurei.

"Truth or dare?" Bakugou asked, relaxing in his seat with a slight smirk.

She was annoyed by that dumb smirk.

"Dare." Yurei replied.

"Give me a blow job." Katsuki said, and everyone in the room reacted.

"B-Bakuagou! That's not cool!" Denki yelled at him.

"I didn't know we could do dares like that!" Mineta cried.

Katsuki's gaze never left Yurei's, silently challenging her.

She was tired of him glaring at her all the fucking time.

Yurei stood up, surprising him, and went over the table.

"Yurei!" Ochaco and Tsu screamed in alarm.

Katsuki seemed alarmed by her sudden movements, his body tensing and trying to sit more upright, and his eyes going wide in alarm. She roughly went for his belt, grabbing at the leather, and when he tried to grab her arm to stop her, his hand went through.

Fear and alarm rippled through him, and instantly, she recognized it.

She was right.

"Stop it!" Katsuki yelled at her.

Keeping her hand on the buckle of his belt in a firm grip, she leaned forward, staring into his red eyes and unflinching from his bewildered stare.

"Then knock it the hell off. Stop glaring at me, stop asking stupid dares, just knock it the hell off." Yurei told him in a low voice.

After a few seconds, she let go, and walked through the table to return to her seat. She poured herself a shot, and downed it.

Katsuki got up and left.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Damn, that was cool." Denki said in a low voice. "I wish I'd recorded that."

14.

February 10th, Saturday, 10:00 AM

The next morning, Mirio and Yurei went to see her father at the hospital.

He should be discharged in about two weeks.

Apparently, while he was here, they were planning to do some other screenings for various illnesses. Her father seemed to be in a good mood, though. He was smiling, occasionally laughing, and telling jokes.

"Tomo's funeral is tomorrow. Do you plan to go, Yurei?" Her father asked, and she nodded.

"I'll be going, too." Mirio said with a smile, sitting next to her.

"Will Bakugou be going?" Her father asked.

"Why would he?" Yurei asked.

"He was there when he died, so that might be of interest to him." Her father said, and she nodded, agreeing to invite him, at least. "Hedeki has already made an official job offer for Bakugou to join H.T.S. Both of you will be able to start working as interns in your free time. You won't have to work on campus."

"That'll be a bit of a commute, won't it?" Mirio asked.

"A little, but H.T.S. is willing to pay for hotel rooms, so that they can be close by on the weekends. This way they can go to school on the weekdays, and work with H.T.S. on the weekends." Her father said, and she thought back to the awkward truth or dare game from the night before.

_How am I going to be able to work long term with that asshole?_

"Hedeki has also talked to Bakugou's parents, and they're thrilled to have him work with us. I believe that they're going to get a tour of our office building on Monday." Her father said.

_So that's your angle. Go for the parents._

"Did you hear about what happened on Tuesday?" Mirio brought up.

"What happened on Tuesday?" Her father asked.

"There was a huge training exercise put on at our campus with Yurei's class. They brought in professional heroes, teachers, and students from other schools. There were hundreds of people there, to participate and watch. I missed it unfortunately, but Yurei and Bakugou were apparently paired up, and did really well." Mirio brought up, and her father's eyes lit up.

"That is wonderful! Tell me all about it." Her father requested.

"It was no big deal. Bakugou and I got beat up a lot by the end." Yurei said.

"You're being modest. The school put up videos and pictures from the event on the school website. There's an entire section dedicated to describing the exercise, what everyone's roles were, and everyone's quirks. Grades for each student are also displayed. Bakugou and Yurei got top scores in their class." Mirio explained proudly.

"Show me the website." Her father requested, and Yurei sulked as they pulled out his laptop and looked it up.

15.

February 10th, Saturday, 11:00 AM

"BAKUGOU! WHY IS THERE A PICTURE OF YOU HALF NAKED AND LOOMING OVER A BLEEDING GIRL ON THE SCHOOL WEBSITE?!" Katsuki's mother screamed into the phone, and his eye twitched in annoyance.

He was at the gym, and didn't want to deal with her yet.

"It was part of a dumb class assignment. I asked them not to put that picture up. Blue Hair Girl and I hit our heads pretty hard." Katsuki said, and stopped the treadmill. As he talked, he wiped down the equipment, getting ready to leave.

"That's not the girl you're going to work with at H.T.S., is it?" His mother asked.

"Yeah." Katsuki replied, and held the phone away from his ear as she started yelling again.

"You're lucky that any agency wants to work with you after your fight with that gravity girl! At this rate you're going to be known as the hero that beats women! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

His eye twitched again, and he waved to the group on his way out. They gave him a passive nod as they continued their work out.

"God, Katsuki, all of these other pictures of you are terrible! You look like a rabid animal! You need to get your shit together! The H.T.S. invited your father and I to look at their facilities on Monday, and they are really excited to have you, for whatever reason. You need to be better!"

As he reached the locker room, he sat outside the door, sitting on a bench.

_I got perfect marks last term and this one so far. How am I supposed to be "better?" _Katsuki wondered in annoyance.

"Don't mess this up. Be nice to that H.T.S. girl."

He thought back to the previous night, and his cheeks heated up in embarrassment.

_She_ was the one that was supposed to be embarrassed, not him. Everyone had laughed at him that morning, when they told Eijirou what happened.

After a long conversation of one sided yelling, Katsuki hung up, and realized that he'd gotten a text.

_Blue Hair Girl: Tomo's funeral is tomorrow, if you want to go._

He wracked his head for whoever the hell that was, and why he would care.

_Me: Who the f is Tomo?_

_Blue Hair Girl: The guy who died in the van._

Katsuki tensed.

He thought back to those exploding heads.

All of that blood on their hands.

The way those bodies dropped.

_Blue Hair Girl: Me, Mirio, my mom, and dad will be going. You're not obligated to go, but you're welcome to pay your respects. We can give you a ride._

Katsuki pondered those words, and reread them several times over.

… he'd only been to one funeral, for his grandfather, and all he remembered was being bored the entire time. All he knew about him was that he smelled weird and laughed at dumb things. He knew even less about this Tomo guy.

_Blue Hair Girl: My dad wants your dad's number._

_Me: ?_

His eye twitched.

_Blue Hair Girl: My mom wants your mom's number._

_Why?_ Katsuki wondered in annoyance, and was perturbed by it.

Why would they want his parent's phone numbers? The H.T.S. was already in contact with them.

Then, he started getting a call from her. He was tempted to decline.

"What?" He asked as he accepted the call.

"Hello, this is Yurei's mother, Hoshi."

"The pornstar?" Katsuki asked. There was a pause.

"I'm a teacher now, but yes, I used to work in that profession. I want to invite you and your family to dinner sometime. Since you and Yurei will be working together in the future, I thought it would be nice for all of us to get better acquainted." Hoshi spoke.

His eye twitched again.

He didn't reply.

There was shifting in the background.

"Hello, Bakugou, this is Yurei's father." A deeper, more masculine voice spoke, and Katsuki instinctively sat up a little straighter. "Will you please forward your parents number to us so that we can contact them?"

"... sure." Katsuki replied awkwardly.

"Thank you, young man. Have a nice day." He said, and hung up.

Katsuki glowered, having a bad feeling about this.

16.

February 10th, Saturday, 11:30 AM

"That boy does have a mouth on him. I see why you're conflicted about him." Her mother commented.

"He's a boy, he'll grow out of it in the coming years. Working at H.T.S. will be good for him." Her father said confidently.

"Remember to stand your ground with him, Yurei. Boys like that need to have firm boundaries, or else they'll walk all over you." Her mother reminded her.

"What about when they're randomly mad at you, but won't articulate why they're upset?" Yurei asked her.

"That probably means he likes you." Her mother replied, and Yurei grunted in response.

That might exasperate his weirdness, but she was pretty sure that wasn't the cause.

17.

February 11th, Sunday, 10:30 AM

Katsuki's eye kept twitching as he sat in the car with his parents.

They were making him go to the funeral.

His mom showed up at the dorms at nine in the morning, screaming at him to get dressed, and they fought tooth and nail until they got back to the car.

He turned his glare to outside, watching the trees pass by, and let out an annoyed sigh.

_This is Blue Hair Girl's fault._ He thought angrily.

"YOUR HAIR IS ALREADY MESSED UP AGAIN!" His mom screamed at him from the passenger's seat in front of him, and turned around, comb in hand, and tried to fix his hair.

"IT'S FINE! FUCK OFF!" Katsuki yelled at her.

"DON'T YOU USE THAT TONE OF VOICE WITH ME!"

18.

February 11th, Sunday, 11:00 AM

Yurei gulped down the lump in her throat.

She was surrounded by sad people.

There were a lot of people from H.T.S., and there was a casket with Tomo's body inside. The clouds were dark and heavy, threatening to pour. The family had put up a cover over the body and seating area in the backyard of Tomo's home.

His family was in tears, and everyone was heartbroken about his death. Almost everyone was crying.

There was a big photograph of Tomo in his uniform, smiling.

Tomo had been a good person.

_If I'd been a little faster…._ Yurei wondered, but stopped. There was no way for her to have saved him. He died from hitting his head during the initial blast that sent the van flying. He died while she was in that building.

… she wondered if those two children would be mourned by anyone.

Their remains had been too charred to identify.

She gave a description to a sketch artist, but there were too many missing children with those characteristics.

Their parents would never know.

Someone suddenly pulled her into a hug, someone she didn't recognize, and she awkwardly hugged them back. "You saved my husband's life. If it wasn't for you, I'd be having this funeral for my husband. Thank you."

Yurei wasn't sure how to respond to that.

The person pulled away, their watery blue eyes staring into Yurei's with gratitude. There were a few others who said similar things, thanking her for what she did. And then, instead of sadness, she felt a strange emotion nearby.

Anger. Hate. Guilt. Confusion.

_Katsuki._

She looked around, and found him glowering with his parents. While they were showing their condolences, he had his hands shoved into his pockets, and subtle glare on his face. He did mutter an "I'm sorry for your loss" while Tomo's wife came over to him.

"I heard that you're going to be working at H.T.S., even after what happened. You were in the van with my husband when he died." Yeshte said.

"Yeah." Katsuki replied.

"I hope you stay safe while you work there. Don't take unnecessary risks." Yeshte said.

Yurei's father approached them, and clasped that back of Katsuki's shoulder. "With Bakugou helping us, we should be able to do a lot of good. It's thanks to him that I'm standing here; he and Yurei did first aid on me. He helped slow the bleeding."

"I'm so glad that there's going to be another hero working with Yurei. Where is she?" Yeshte said, and Yurei tensed as they looked her way. Yeshte gestured for her to come closer.

Yurei hesitantly did.

"You were the first one to find my husband dead, weren't you? You were the first person on the scene?" Yeshte asked her.

"Yeah." Yurei replied with a nod.

"I'm so sorry that you saw my Tomo like that. He was always so fond of you; he never would have wanted you to see him that way. It must have been terrifying for you." Yeshte said, and the tears fell again.

"I couldn't really dwell on it at the time. I had to focus on helping the other people injured." Yurei said, trying to keep her composure.

There were a lot of upset people around her, drowning her emotions quirk in sadness and despair. No one was stable enough to focus on, no life preserver in the sea of depression.

Yeshte put her hands on Yurei's shoulders. Her nails were long and dug in like talons, keeping her in place.

"I know that you did everything you could to save Tomo. Don't blame yourself for it, okay? So many more people would have died without you there. You have to protect people with your gift, Yurei. You're blessed with such wonderful, amazing power, and you have to use it. You have to protect people, so that ordinary people like Tomo don't get killed." Yeshte said, looking Yurei in the eye and crying.

Yurei felt a surge of fear and anxiety, and tried to seem somber, without the other emotions poking through.

She nodded.

"Good. Because we need more heroes." Yeshte cried, the tears smearing her already smudged make up, and making her cheeks even more red.

Her sister came over and pulled Yeshte away.

Yurei was relieved.

"How have you been coping? Was that the first time that you saw someone die?" Her father asked, turning to Katsuki.

"I'm fine." Katsuki shrugged.

"Katsuki is a strong boy. He can handle stuff like that." His mother insisted, and then turned to Yurei. "You're Yurei, right? Katsuki has told us so much about you."

"I haven't told you anything about her." Katsuki corrected.

"My name is Mitsuki, and this is my husband, Masaru. I've been looking forward to meeting you." Mitsuki continued, ignoring Katsuki's glare.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. and Mrs. Bakugou. Katsuki is a good student." Yurei said, already so drained.

"Thank you for putting up with our son. We know that he can be a handful." Mistuki said, and Katsuki's glare hardened slightly.

"It's no problem. Katsuki has been a great friend since I came to UA." Yurei said.

"You don't have to lie. We know that he's difficult to be around." Mitsuki said with a smile.

"Yeah, he's difficult, but he's still a good friend. He's helped me a lot the last few weeks at school." Yurei said, and his parents blinked in surprise.

"You are so nice and adorable. My son doesn't deserve to work with someone like you." Mitsuki said.

"She's not that great." Katsuki muttered, and his mom hit him on the side of the head.

"Katsuki is looking forward to working with you in the future." Mitsuki said with a strained smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Building Muscle_

February 12th, Monday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, Yurei woke up to someone banging on her door, and peered at the clock.

Two hours before she was supposed to wake up.

They banged on the door again.

"Go away!" Yurei yelled.

Her head hurt and she was groggy from yesterday's funeral. Being around so many sad people had been emotionally draining for her.

They banged on her door again.

With an annoyed grunt, she got out of bed, glided to the door, and poked her head out, just as they were about to hit the door again.

To her surprise, a pair of angry red eyes glared back at her, startling her.

"What?" Yurei snapped.

"Get dressed. We're going to train." Katsuki replied.

"What are you talking about?" Yurei asked.

"You're physically pathetic. If we're going to work together, you need to get stronger, so that you're not knocked out from one hit." Katsuki told her.

"Fuck off, I have school and work today, and I'm exhausted from yesterday." Yurei told him.

"I don't give a shit. Get dressed and let's go." Katsuki told her.

"You can't make me." Yurei said with a glare.

"Then I'll break your door down and destroy your room. It wouldn't be the first time." Katsuki said, and she frowned, her sleepy brain believing him.

"I rely on my quirk. I don't have to work out." Yurei told him.

"Land a single punch on me, and I'll leave you alone." Katsuki said.

"Or I could call security on you." Yurei said.

"With what phone, after I destroy your room?" Katsuki asked.

Her eye twitched.

He glared as he poked her forehead, and his finger went through it.

"Get dressed, and let's go. There's no one at the gym right now, so all the equipment is free." Katsuki added.

She made a whining sound. "I'm weak, though. I'll flail and look pathetic."

"You already look pathetic." Katsuki told her.

She grunted.

His hand started to spark, as if preparing to bust down her door.

She moved quickly, trying to punch him in the face, but then suddenly, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the ground, shoving her down. One of his hands was on the back of her neck, while the other was still on her wrist, and she was too tired to move.

"We're going to start on strength training today, to see where you're at, and we're going to go over what you know for hand to hand combat. Based on that weak ass punch, we're going to have a lot to go over." Katsuki said over her, and she whined again.

She was tired.

1.

February 12th, Monday, 8:50 AM

"Hate Bakugou." Yurei groaned at her seat in class.

Her day hadn't even started and she was already exhausted in every aspect of the word. Her work shift would go until 11 PM that night. Katsuki woke her up at 6 AM.

"What did he do?" Ochaco asked.

"He showed up at my fucking door this morning and threatened to destroy my room if I didn't work out with him. Everything hurts, I'm tired, and I just want to sleep." Yurei explained, and rested her face on the desk.

"Why did he do that?" Ochaco asked.

"I don't know. He's probably just insane." Yurei said, and heard him scoff nearby. "I hate you, Katsuki, go find a hole somewhere, crawl inside, and die peacefully." Yurei told him without looking up at him.

"Stop whining, you'll get used to training once you do it more often." Katsuki told her.

"Why are you two training together?" Ochaco asked Katsuki.

"Because she's a pathetic worm that needs to get her shit together. I'm not carrying her ass when we work at H.T.S." Katsuki replied.

"If anyone carried anyone, I'd be carrying you. You have the tact of a dead fish nailed to a chalkboard." Yurei replied tiredly.

"At least I'm not knocked out from one hit." Katsuki countered.

"But I never get knocked out, because I'm never hit! THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT OF MY QUIRK!" Yurei yelled at him as she sat up to glare at him.

"Mirio has a shittier version of your quirk and can beat the shit out of anyone. You have to rely on your emotions quirk, which doesn't always work, like last week. What are you going to do when your emotions quirk doesn't work and there's no guns nearby?" Katsuki asked her.

"Glare at them aggressively and hope that they shut up." Yurei replied.

"And how's that working out for you?" He asked.

"Terribly." She grumbled, and rested her head on her desk again.

"You really are pathetic." Katsuki told her, and she grunted, not having the energy to fight him anymore.

2.

February 12th, Monday, 3:00 PM

When Yurei showed up to her work shift, she was surprised to find that someone else was working.

… they didn't schedule her.

She went over to the supervisor, and apparently, she was no longer eligible for a school work position because she'd accepted the paid internship at H.T.S.

… so she no longer worked here.

"Oh… okay." Yurei said awkwardly, and then heard a big group of people walk in through the entrance. Recognizing Eijirou's voice, she looked over, watching as his usual group strolled in; which, included Katsuki.

"Good luck at H.T.S." Her supervisor told her.

"... thanks." Yurei said, and as her supervisor walked away, Eijirou came over to her.

"Hey, why aren't you working behind the counter?" Eijirou asked.

"... I guess I don't work here anymore. I've got a paid internship over the weekends, I guess, so I can't work on campus anymore." Yurei said.

"You got an internship? Where?" Eijirou asked.

"H.T.S. My dad's department." Yurei answered.

"Oh, are you going to be working with Katsuki there? He mentioned an internship there, too." Eijirou said.

"Unfortunately." Yurei replied.

"So that means that you're not working today?" Katsuki asked her.

She frowned, not wanting him to say what she was pretty sure he was thinking.

"I'm tirrrrred. No more training today, Katsuki." Yurei whined at him.

"Then I'll be at your room at 4 AM tomorrow." Katsuki said evenly.

"The gym isn't even open that early."

"We'll do exercises that don't require equipment."

"Why are you such a terrible human? I feel like if all the villains in the world came together, contributed their DNA, and created a baby, and that baby fucked the devil, their child would be you." Yurei told him.

"Maybe your insults will be better after you get sleep, loser." Katsuki said as he walked away, going to the locker room.

"... so you two are training together?" Denki asked her.

"He showed up at my room at six AM this morning, saying I was weak and pathetic, and dragged me here. I'm going home." Yurei told them, and then left, planning to eat a large meal before going to bed.

3.

February 12th, Monday, 3:10 PM

Eijirou was quiet in the locker room, pondering Katsuki's existence.

He was weird and violent… but, he could also be sweet in his own weird, violent way.

Everytime Tenya saw him, he trembled and hid, doing everything in his power to avoid him.

Katsuki was usually indifferent about who he hit. He liked to hit everyone and everything, and the only variation was how strong his opponent was. Even though it didn't look like it, he did hold back with his weaker opponents.

But with Yurei, his opponents had become much more targeted.

His first term at UA had been extremely rough, adjusting to not being the strongest kid in school anymore, only being the strongest of his class, and he was still adjusting to that. He hated the idea of anyone coming close to his level of strength. Whenever someone tried to help him, he shoved them off, and only used them if it was a last resort.

With Yurei, though, he actively used her assistance. Instead of an opponent, she was a tool to help him, and that was weirdly beneficial for him. She was helping him realize that, just because he wasn't the absolutely strongest, didn't mean that was bad, and that he could still strive to be better.

Yurei, though… he wasn't sure if being around Katsuki was helping her.

When Eijirou first met her, she was really nice and bubbly. In the recent weeks, though, she's started having that look in her eye. The same one that Katsuki had in his eye; that insecurity, fear of someone else being stronger, and wanting to inflict pain. Yurei hid it better, but he was concerned that Katsuki was bringing more of that out of her, and exasperating that feeling in her.

She was good for Katsuki, but he wasn't good for her.

After reading that text, he had a pretty good idea why she was drawn to Katsuki's personality. Eijirou was beginning to suspect that something messed up happened to Katsuki when he was a kid, and he dealt with that by lashing out. They had that same kind of pain to bond over.

He took Victim Psychology last term, and one of the things they emphasized was that things like rape were all about power. Someone asserting their power over someone else; it wasn't about sex, not really at least, but about forcing power over another person. Sometimes victims lash out and try to assert control over the people around them in order to feel more safe and establish that control.

Eijirou and Denki had joked about that being Katsuki's situation at the time, but he didn't really consider that to be a possibility until this term. Katsuki was terrified of erect penises.

They would never tell Katsuki directly, but Denki and Eijirou had started looking for more signs. Katsuki checked off a lot of boxes.

When Eijirou directly asked Katsuki about it, he straight up ran out of the room.

4.

February 13th, Tuesday, 4:20 AM

Mirio was going for an early jog the next morning, having woken up too early, and paused by the gym when he realized it was open. It wasn't supposed to be open for another hour and a half, so his curiosity was piqued.

He pulled one of the earbuds out of his ears, pulled his hood down, and went inside. The gym was eery to be in after hours; no people, open spaces, no movement or flashing from the few TV screens.

_So quiet._ Mirio thought with a smile, and walked around a little, curious about why the lights were on so early.

A short scream came from the weight lifting area, and Mirio ran over, finding that there were two people inside.

One of them he recognized, Bakugou, was spotting them… kind of. He was wearing sweats, looking down at the person laying on the seat, and slowly raising his eyebrow at them. Instead of the weight being on the hooks or in either of their hands, it was on the bench under the person's head, as if it had been dropped.

"It's scary." The person laying down said, and Mirio recognized that as Yurei's voice. _What is she doing here so early with Bakugou?_

"It's a weight. It's a metal bar with two weights on the ends." Bakugou replied in a deadpan voice.

"It's heavy, and if I drop it, it breaks my neck." Yurei whined.

"Then don't drop it. If you do, that's what I'm here for, to catch it." Bakugou replied.

"But you didn't catch it." Yurei said.

"Because I didn't expect you to phase through it. If your hands had stayed solid, I would have caught it. Also, phasing makes it even more dangerous, because if you phase your hands and bar but not your neck, then you'll definitely break your neck." Bakugou explained evenly.

"That makes it even more terrifying." Yurei whined.

Bakugou crouched down, still looking at her, so that their eyes were only a few inches away.

Yurei's legs squirmed slightly.

"It's only a hundred pounds." Bakugou repeated in a low voice.

"I'm weak and pathetic, remember? That's too much." Yurei replied.

Bakugou let out a sigh.

Mirio wondered if he should intervene or not. If Yurei hadn't told him about her new workout routine, maybe there was a reason.

"This is a waste of time and embarrassing." Yurei said in a softer voice.

"We're the only ones here." Bakugou said.

"You're here. I'm not strong like you, and Mirio, and the others." Yurei replied.

"How many more funerals do you want to go to?" Bakugou asked, and Mirio's heart fell. _That's too cold, Bakugou._

"Tomo knew the risk. It's the funerals that didn't happen that I care about. Those kids might have parents somewhere that will never know they're dead." Yurei said, and Mirio's heart fell again.

He'd forgotten about that part of the raid. So much attention had been on Tomo and her dad, that he forgot that she witnessed two children die.

"Then get stronger so that you can get the other kids back to their families." Bakugou said.

There was a pause, and Mirio silently watched, wondering how Yurei would respond to that.

"A hundred pounds is still too much. I get startled and phase." Yurei said softly.

"Then let's start with no weights, so that you can get used to it. We'll add on ten at a time after that." Bakugou compromised.

"... alright."

Mirio hid himself better, watching them for a while, and smiled to himself.

5.

February 13th, Tuesday, 6:05 AM

Yurei was on the verge of falling back to sleep when class started, at the early time of 6 AM.

She was still drinking her coffee, and nearly dozed off.

"Everyone except for Bakugou and Kasai, start running!" All Might announced.

The group of sleepy students slowly started into a jog, getting back into their old rhythm.

_What now?_ Yurei wondered as she walked over to All Might, sipping her drink along the way.

"Did you have a rough night, Kasai?" All Might asked her.

"A rough morning. Katsuki dragged me to the gym at 4 AM this morning." Yurei said groggily.

"You two are training outside of class together? That is excellent!" All Might said enthusiastically, and then held out a large envelope to them, which looked like the envelope from the last assignment.

Yurei's shoulders slumped.

Katsuki took the envelope.

"For future reference, I recommend that you not train right before this class, though. I want you two at full strength when you get here." All Might said, and Yurei glared at Katsuki. "All the students from our school with the highest scores from last week's activity have been asked to partake in the next one, for the other training class from your grade. You'll get extra credit for doing it. I'll be announcing it to the other students, but their parts will be much more minimal."

"Do we have to?" Yurei asked tiredly.

"Stop being a wimp." Katsuki told her.

"Being a wimp is not something I can magically turn off, just like you can't magically turn off being a dick." Yurei snapped at him.

"How long have you been working on that insult?" Katsuki asked her.

"Stop hating on my insults!"

"They're weaker than your muscles."

"Do you two have any questions about the assignment?" All Might asked, getting their attention again.

"When is it?" Yurei asked.

"Next week on Tuesday. You'll be excused from this class to help. I think you'll be able to contribute a lot to this, Kasai." All Might said.

She snatched the envelope out of Katsuki's hands, and walked away, opening it and taking out one of the packets to look at.

They were villains this time.

… Yurei and Katsuki would be playing people who traffic humans.

She looked back at All Might with a deadpan look. She was training to stop people like this. Now she was supposed to act like one? _To help me get into their mindset?_

This will be great for Katsuki, but Yurei was annoyed at the idea of acting like such a terrible person.

_Maybe it'll convince Katsuki not to join H.T.S.. Too much psychology._ She wondered, and smiled a little.

6.

February 13th, Tuesday, 6:10 AM

As All Might watched the young students argue over the assignment, he couldn't help but feel bad for Kasai.

Bakugou liked her, that much was painfully obvious; and like a boy pulling the hair of a girl he liked, he was dragging her to training in the morning.

Hopefully he learns a better way to deal with his feelings before Yurei snaps and kills him. By the looks of it, she was pretty close to that point.

"All Might!" Kasai suddenly yelled, startling him. She stomped over to him, seeming still agitated by Bakugou, and All Might watched them warily. "How, like… how far do you want us to take this? Do we hold back?"

"Nope. This time, the pro hero will be on the good side. It's going to be a lot different than last week. You two are tasked with being as ruthless and realistic as you can be, short of killing people." All Might explained.

"... how ruthless do you mean?" Kasai asked.

"With how active villains have become in the recent months, we want to prepare our students as much as we can. Be as realistic as you can. Considering your experience, we're hoping that you can bring a lot to this." All Might explained, and she paused.

"... but like… I can make people feel some terrible things. I can make them literally feel like people who have been trafficked. I can cause a lot of trauma. I need limits for this, because I don't want to hurt someone irreparably." Kasai explained carefully.

"It would be ideal to give them a taste of the real world in a setting that is safe and controlled. We have therapists at the school. If someone can't handle this field, they might learn that they're better suited for a less extreme role in their career." All Might explained.

She still seemed hesitant.

"Also, perhaps consider, that heroes are one side of a coin, and villains are the other. Some heroes haven't experienced pain or trauma, so when they inflict it, they don't fully realize the ramifications. Sometimes the only way for people to realize how much pain they inflict is to feel it." All Might added. He hoped that this will boost her confidence in her abilities, and push her emotions quirk more. From what he understood, she was afraid to use it because of Ikari, but that was severely limiting herself.

This would give her a safe outlet to explore the darker side of her quirk.

"Is there a reason that this will be so much darker than last week?" Kasai asked.

"We're trying to add variety to each scenario. Their teacher decided on the scenario, and the other teachers simply helped flesh out the details. Considering that you two will be working for H.T.S., I thought this would be a great opportunity for you two, especially Bakugou." All Might explained, and Kasai nodded.

She took another sip of her coffee, thinking seriously about it.

"Does that mean that I don't have to hold back, either?" Bakugou asked with a sadistic grin.

"You'll be paired up like before, but instead of being partners, Kasai will be calling the shots. As a mercenary, you don't have to follow her orders, but in the scenario she is the one paying you." All Might explained.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get to fight." Kasai said.

_She is pretty good at directing him._ All Might realized, thinking back to the scenario last week. She had a darkness in her eye, like she enjoyed watching him fight people.

All Might wasn't sure if that was a good thing. For now, he'd just keep an eye on them. Hopefully this would get that violence out of their systems.

"Do we get to add props?" Kasai asked All Might.

"What kind of props?" All Might asked.

"Fake dead body parts, for example." Kasai said.

"I can see about getting you a budget. I believe the other teacher is in charge of getting supplies this weekend. Get me a list of things you want by tomorrow." All Might said, and she nodded.

7.

February 13th, Tuesday, 7:50 AM

As they went to the locker room, Yurei sat on the bench, resting and half asleep. The girls around her chatted and changed.

"Yurei, if Bakugou bugs you so much, why don't you use your emotions quirk on him?" Mina asked.

"Last time I used my quirk on a guy, he used it as an excuse to rape me. I try not to use it anymore unless under specific circumstances." Yurei said tiredly, her eyes closed and on the verge of sleep.

"I'm so sorry, Yurei." Mina said in a soft voice.

"It's fine. You don't have to treat me differently for it. I'm just tired because I went to a funeral for an old family friend, and then Katsuki keeps yelling at me." Yurei explained tiredly.

"What if you went out with me and Eijirou tomorrow?" Mina suggested.

"I'm not going to third wheel your Valentine's Day plans. You've been looking forward to that for weeks." Yurei stated.

"I could cancel, and do something with you." Mina offered.

"I'll be fine, Mina. I heard some people are planning to do a singles movie thing in the commons, anyway. Maybe on Friday, we can binge each donuts and soda or something." Yurei suggested.

"Are you sure? Because I wouldn't mind staying in with you." Mina said.

"You've been working hard to get your ass looking sexy for tomorrow. I would be a terrible friend if I kept you from showing it off with Eijirou." Yurei said, and opened her eyes, finding that Mina was smiling.

"Do you think he'll like it?" She asked, and turned to have her butt face her.

"I think he'll love it. It looks wonderful." Yurei said, and pinched it. Mina squealed and giggled excitedly.

8.

February 13th, Tuesday, 11:50 AM

After their second class ended, Katsuki turned to face her, and she frowned.

"We already did four hours of training, Bakugou." Yurei whined.

"We need to work on the assignment." Katsuki said instead, and she stopped pouting.

Then, she frowned, slouching over her desk.

"What assignment?" Hanta asked next to her.

"All Might asked us to play villains for the next scenario. We're not supposed to hold back." Yurei said with a frown.

"It's not like you held back for the last scenario. Why is this different?" Hanta asked.

"We're playing rapists and murderers this time around. It's a human trafficking raid, and that stuff gets dark." Yurei explained, and he winced.

"Yeah, I can see that." Hanta commented.

"There's a lot of pressure to not fuck up, since Blue Hair Girl has been training for the last five years to work at H.T.S." Katsuki explained.

"All Might wants me to be as ruthless as possible." Yurei said.

"So you're going to be playing the people that you want to take down someday?" Hanta clarified.

"Yep. I'm a mercenary." Katsuki said with a dark grin, way too excited about this.

9.

February 13th, Tuesday, 2:00 PM

Yurei felt weird as she sat in the cafe with Katsuki. They worked sitting on high chairs by the window, which allowed them to face the street as they worked.

Katsuki was strangely… calm.

They were both reading up on their characters, coming up with ideas, and overall brainstorming for their parts. If they wanted to do something that wasn't in the plan, they could get it added or changed, if they talked to All Might soon enough.

She was tired after her long day, but she'd finally woken up. She brought her own food to munch on as she quietly drank her coffee, and Katsuki had the sandwich he bought.

"How's your research going?" Yurei asked him.

"Boring. Gross." Katsuki replied.

"There are a few documentaries that could help. I can recommend them to you." Yurei said.

"Documentaries?" He asked skeptically.

"They have survivors talk about their experiences, some of the people that work to rescue them, and other specialists talk. There's not a lot on human trafficking in Japan specifically, but there are some for other countries, like India, Africa, and America." Yurei described.

"Should we watch those for the movie night tomorrow?" He suggested.

"I don't think our classmates will enjoy learning about 2 year olds being raped." Yurei said, and he scrunched his nose in disgust. He felt revolted by the idea. "It's not pretty. It's pretty heartbreaking, but if you're going to-"

"I'll watch it." Katsuki interrupted, and went back to looking at his screen. "Where do you want to watch the rape videos?"

"They're not videos showing the sexual assault itself, just the victims talking about it. We could go to the library and use one of the study rooms, and use headphones." Yurei suggested.

"Why not watch it at the commons?" Katsuki asked.

"It's loud there." Yurei replied, and he nodded. "I'll see about renting one of the library rooms."

Yurei pulled up the library website, going to the study rooms page, and found that there were a lot of openings.

"Do you have a preference?" Yurei asked.

"No."

She chose one on the top floor. If there was no one there, they wouldn't have to listen with headphones, and not disturb anyone.

"What time?" Yurei asked.

"Do you have anything going on tonight?" Katsuki asked.

"Not since I got fired." Yurei replied.

He looked over at her laptop, at the available times. Weirdly, that room was booked for the later hours in the evening, but not earlier.

"We could go there now." Katsuki said.

"Sure. I'll book us for 2:30, and we can be slow." Yurei said.

He nodded, going back to his screen.

"I'll look up the movies." Yurei said, and started searching for them. The documentaries would help her refresh her memory, too. She'd need to be in a specific head space for Tuesday.

After a while of researching and taking their time, and Yurei getting a decaf coffee for the go, they made their way to the library.

When they got there, Yurei told the girl behind the desk that they reserved a room, and gave her her ID. Then, the girl gave her a weird look, and glanced Katsuki's way, who was boredly looking at his phone.

The girl got the key card, which was a large piece of paper with the room number on it, and the key to get into the room. She handed that and the ID card to Yurei, and winked at her.

"That room is soundproof. Have fun." The girl said, and winked.

Yurei's face heated up in embarrassment.

"We're just watching documentaries. I chose the top floor so that we don't bother anyone." Yurei told her.

"Uh-huh."

"What are the rape videos called?" Katsuki asked Yurei loudly, seeming to have missed the exchange, and Yurei's went wide.

"... are you sure you want the room?" The girl asked Yurei.

"We're watching documentaries. We are watching documentaries, not rape videos." Yurei said in a loud whisper, and punched Katsuki's arm as hard as she could.

He gave her a bored look, not caring.

"... uh-huh." The girl said.

"The other class-" Yurei tried to explain.

"I don't need to know. If you need help, I have extra rape whistles in my bag, in case he does something." The girl said, and Katsuki seemed confused. "Or, whatever you're into, whatever,"

Yurei grabbed Katsuki's arm and hurried off to the elevator, her face on the verge of melting off from embarrassment.

"What was that about?" Katsuki asked as they waited for the elevator.

"She thinks we're going to the room to make out, and you talked about rape videos. What is wrong with you?" Yurei whispered, and smacked his arm again.

He rolled his eyes, trying to act nonchalant, and went back to his phone, even though there was a slight blush on his cheeks.

_At least he has the ability to be embarrassed._ Yurei thought with a glare.

10.

February 13th, Tuesday, 5:00 PM

Two and a half hours into sitting and watching documentaries, Yurei got a text from Mina.

_Pinkie: Why did Bakugou message Eijirou saying that he's watching rape videos with you for "research"!?_

"Stop telling people we're watching rape videos!" Yurei shouted at him.

Katsuki didn't respond, not acknowledging her outburst, still looking bored as they watched the footage. He was at least taking notes and paying attention, which was good, and she was relieved to sense his emotional responses to things, even if he didn't express them outloud.

He just needed to stop calling them rape videos.

"Do you have any idea what that implies? Are you purposely trying to make people think you're training to be a rapist?" Yurei asked, and he froze, his muscles tensing. "What did you think that sounded like, Katsuki? What do you think people assume when you say you're watching rape videos instead of documentaries about human trafficking? Both of these have very different implications about what you're doing."

With a heavy blush on his face, he pulled out his phone, and started texting someone.

"Moron." Yurei muttered as she leaned back, and sent a clarifying text to Mina.

_Me: Katsuki is being dumb. We're watching documentaries about human trafficking for the thing on Tuesday. Their class is taking down a human trafficking ring. We're playing villains._ Yurei explained.

After sending it, she got another text.

_Pinkie: This is what Bakugou sent to Eijirou: "NO IDIOT IM WATCHING DOCUMENTARIES TO PSYCHOLOGICALLY MINDRAPE PEOPLE ON TUESDAY."_

_Pinkie: Just read your last text. That makes more sense._

"How do you function?" Yurei asked him, finding that his face was still red.

"Shut up." He muttered.

"How many people did you text about the mindrape thing?" Yurei asked.

"... just Eijirou." Katsuki replied.

"Good, then stop. Just don't tell people anything about what we're doing. I clarified things with Mina, and she relayed the info to Eijirou. Stop telling people things." Yurei said, and let out a tired sigh.

"Whatever." He muttered, and put his phone back into his pocket.

11.

February 13th, Tuesday, 7:00 PM

After over four hours of watching videos, Katsuki went to his room to watch more for research, and Yurei went to the commons, where Mina practically begged for her to spend time with her.

Mina sat on the side of the couch, sitting sideways, and patted the space between her legs. Eijirou was sitting on the other side of the couch, texting on his phone.

Yurei sat down in front of Mina, and she enveloped her into a hug, like a baby koala.

"I miss yooooou. We need to spend more time together." Mina whined. Yurei yawned loudly, and shifted, leaning against her and snuggling in more. Mina was comfy.

"I don't believe the text, by the way. I blocked her number, too." Mina told her.

She was still nervous about the other day.

"Thanks, Mina." Yurei said, continuing to relax against her.

"So, uh… how is training with Katsuki going?" Eijirou asked.

"Training sucks. We're prepping for the thing on Tuesday, though, and that's not bad. He was super chill today after history class." Yurei explained.

"Katsuki? Chill?" Eijirou asked.

"It amazed me, too. He's taking research really seriously." Yurei said.

"So… he really did just phrase that badly? He hasn't, like… done anything, right?" Eijirou asked awkwardly.

"Aside from being annoying, threatening to destroy my room, literally dragging me out of bed at four in the fucking morning…." She said sourly.

"I mean… Mina mentioned what you said this morning, and then the texts…." Eijirou said.

"What did I say this morning?" Yurei asked, tilting her head to Mina, who was still nervous and awkward.

"That you were afraid of Katsuki hurting you, like Ikari." Mina answered.

"Either I misspoke, or you misunderstood." Yurei said, and glanced around.

No one else was around, which was a rarity. They were probably studying or resting.

"Ikari and I used to be best friends. We met each other when we were three, and stayed best friends all through school. I even decided to go to the college he was accepted to, instead of coming here, because of his grades and quirk. I used my emotions quirk on him pretty frequently, but the thing about my quirk, is that it's pretty easy to tell when I'm using it. Your emotion is static until I release it; whenever I used my quirk on him, he knew it.

"So like small things, like wanting to experiment with drugs, but not actually use them, to see what the high is like. Smaller things, like anxiety, or boosting up his confidence when he was scared.

"When he got to college, he got a lot more stressed. He struggled. We tried to keep up with our studies, keep a social life, and do all those things. His classes were failing, he was frustrated with his quirk, he was frustrated at being single… his dates weren't going well, and he didn't understand why.

"So, one day, he had a big speech, and he was really nervous. So I used my quirk to make him not nervous. I'd used my quirk hundreds of times on him, but for whatever reason, this set him off. When we were talking at my parent's house one day, they were gone on a trip and let us stay the night for privacy, he snapped. He accused me of manipulating him constantly, that everything he was feeling was my fault. So then he attacked me.

"I was so scared that I couldn't use my quirk to escape. It's the only time I've never been able to phase. Because of that, people tend to believe Ikari when he says that I lied. It makes more sense for people that I manipulated Ikari and lied, rather than him randomly snapping.

"Because of that, I don't use my quirk as often. So, I'm not afraid of Bakugou raping or attacking me or anything like that, but if he did, I don't want to give him or anyone else the excuse that I was manipulating him. I don't use my quirk on anyone unless I have their permission, it's for class, it's for self defense, or if it's for my job." Yurei explained.

Mina held her tighter.

Eijirou and Mina were both upset, but she was pretty sure they weren't upset at her.

"And he was the guy that Katsuki beat up during the first week, yeah?" Eijirou asked, and she nodded. "Good. If I had known, I would have hit him, too."

She was pretty sure they didn't need to know the rest. They didn't need to know the details, like how his quirk effectively made him stab her over ninety times, or the number of surgeries she had to keep her internal organs together.

"I'm sorry that you went through that. I'm going to go take a walk." Eijirou said, trembling slightly, and got up to leave.

There was an awkward pause.

"... I don't know what to say, or how to help." Mina admitted.

"That's okay. You don't need to say or do anything. You're already a great friend. We don't have to talk about it or anything. We can talk about your plans for tomorrow, if you want, or you can talk about how amazing Eijirou's butt is."

"Okay, so, apparently he started doing more squats for me when he does his workouts," Mina started to say excitedly, shifting to talk about everything that she had been bottling up in Yurei's absence.

12.

February 13th, Tuesday, 7:20 PM

Katsuki was on his way back to the dorms, when he noticed Eijirou walking towards him. He was stomping around, his shoulders hunched, and head down.

"What's up with you, shit head?" Katsuki asked.

Eijirou glared, and went around him, continuing to stomp around angrily. Katsuki shrugged, continuing to the dorms, and swiped his card on the door.

Red.

Swipe.

Red.

Swipe.

Red.

He glared at the dumb card reader, and then looked in the window, to the commons. It looked like Yurei and Mina were on the couch.

He went over to the window, and knocked, causing both of them to jump in alarm.

"Let me in!" Katsuki yelled.

Yurei flipped him off.

He glared, his eye twitching, and held up his food bag to her.

"I'll give you a few mozzarella sticks." Katsuki yelled at her.

She stared at him for a moment, contemplating his offer, and then shifted to reach her hand outside the glass. On his side of the glass, she indicated for him to get closer.

He reached his free hand out to her, and she glided him in, through the wall and couch, setting him on the other side. He pulled out two mozzarella sticks as payment. She took them, and started to eat them, seeming comfy in Mina's arms.

"Why was Eijirou stomping around like an idiot out there?" Katsuki asked.

"Maybe he was doing an imitation of you." Yurei suggested, and Mina burst into laughter.

Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you at six tomorrow." Katsuki told her, and her entire face contorted into a grimace.

"But it's a holiday tomorrow." Yurei whined.

"What holiday?" Katsuki asked.

"Valentine's Day. You could give me the Valentine's gift of not storming into my room and dropping weights on my head." Yurei told him.

"Or you could just do it and not whine the entire time." Katsuki said.

"But that means still waking up early." Yurei whined.

"Why don't you just train in the afternoon?" Mina asked.

"Do you really want to lift weights in a crowded room, Yurei?" Katsuki asked, and watched her face get pale and sickly looking.

"... 6 is fine…." Yurei muttered.

"No, if you really want, we can go at three, the busiest time in the day, on the busiest day of the week. We can show off your amazing lifting skills." Katsuki teased, and Yurei's face turned completely red.

"We'll go at six." Yurei said, making a face.

"Are you sure? Because three-"

She made a weak hit in his direction, aiming for his crotch, and he easily blocked.

"Three would really work with my schedule better." Katsuki said, and she tried to hit him again, but he grabbed her wrist. His food bag dropped to the ground in the process, causing the rest of his mozzarella sticks to fall out, and he realized that Mina's acid was on the handle.

He glared at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Leave us alone." Mina told him.

"Whatever." Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes, and let go of Yurei's wrist.

He knelt down, picking up the fallen food, including the mozzarella sticks, and got going.

13.

February 13th, Tuesday, 7:30 PM

"You realize he was flirting with you, right?" Mina asked against her ear.

"He does that with everyone." Yurei said.

"Katsuki yells at people, he doesn't tease them. Wait, do you like him?" Mina asked, and shifted to look at Yurei's face. "You're blushing! You like him!"

"If my face is red, it's because I was mad at him." Yurei told her.

"Have you guys kissed yet? What are you doing for Valentine's Day? Are you going to show your cute butt tomorrow? Do you want to borrow my sexy leggings?" Mina asked quickly.

"No! No to all of that!" Yurei said as she struggled in Mina's grasp, who held on tighter and pulled her back.

14.

February 14th, Wednesday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, Katsuki turned and reached up, catching an object before it hit him in the head.

He paused, looking at it, and realized that he was holding a spray bottle. The label had been taken off, and in its place, a heart with an 'x' through it was on it.

"Valentine's Day gift. So you can spray people when they're being 'disgusting'." Yurei said tiredly, and yawned into her hand. He squirted some of it in the air, shooting out fine mist.

"How long are we training?" Yurei asked.

"Just an hour." He replied, and twisted the nozzle, making it come out in a stream rather than a spray. Then, he grinned sadistically, thinking of various uses for it.

14.

February 14th, Wednesday, 3:00 PM

When her classes finally ended, Yurei flopped onto the couch in the commons, exhausted from her day.

People were dressed up today. Boys wore too much cologne, girls too much perfume. Decorations were still up. Hearts on the walls. Flowers on the table next to her. Flowers on the tables in the dining rooms.

… she hadn't put that much thought into Valentine's Day this year. Usually she did.

Usually she cared.

When she didn't have a date, she spent it with Ikari. They'd get each other flowers, chocolate, and watch cheesy rom-coms. Most of the people who had planned to do a movie night, bailed. Some of them got dates. Others… she didn't know.

Ochaco had a date with Deku. She'd promised to fill her in on the details later. Tsu was doing some kind of game night with some friends from another dorm.

If Yurei wanted to go on a date, there were plenty of people she could ask. Problem was, she was terrified of going on a date with any of them, especially after what happened with Tenya.

She frowned at the memory.

_That hurt._

And then Katsuki beat him up.

He deserved it. She didn't officially approve of violence, but Tenya deserved it.

Mirio had plans, of course.

She thought back to that morning with Katsuki. Giving him the spray bottle _before_ training with him was a mistake. He squirted her a lot, leaving a lot of her body drenched and uncomfortable. Briefly, she stole it back and got payback, but that resulted in him demanding more push ups.

As her mind teetered towards the idea of being romantically involved with him, her chest tightened, thinking of Ikari. They were polar opposites, but the one thing they did have in common was violence.

Water suddenly hit her face, startling her, and she wiped her face with her sleeve as she looked up, finding Katsuki making his way towards her.

"I thought this was your workout time?" Yurei asked.

"Spray bottle wasn't enough. All the guys at the gym need to die." Katsuki said, and sat down on the adjacent couch.

"Did security kick you out?" Yurei asked.

"They said that they'd ban me if I didn't leave." Katsuki replied with a grunt, and tossed his gym bag to the other side of the couch.

"Do you want to watch more documentaries? I don't have any plans tonight." Yurei asked.

"I thought that movie thing was happening?" Katsuki asked.

"Everyone bailed." Yurei answered.

"I watched the ones you recommended last night. Humans are garbage." Katsuki said.

"Yeah. We get to play garbage on Tuesday." Yurei said, and let out a tired sigh.

"You hear about the dinner your parents are hosting next week?" Katsuki asked.

"No." Yurei answered.

"My mom called me earlier, freaking out about it. She wants me to wear a tux and shit." Katsuki said.

"That probably means that I'll have to wear a dress." Yurei said with a frown.

"It's your dumb parents. Make them stop." Katsuki said.

"Your parents will probably bail if they find out my mom used to be a pornstar." Yurei said.

"... they probably wouldn't believe it, or tell me to shut up if I told them. They think the H.T.S. is the greatest thing to ever happen in my life." Katsuki said.

Yurei sighed, and looked up at the ceiling.

Her dad really liked Katsuki.

And, when it came down to it, he wasn't terrible. He was taking time out of his day to train her. As annoying and obnoxious as he was, he was actually trying to help her getting stronger. That was for his public image, since they would be working together… but, still….

"What do you usually do on Valentine's Day?" Yurei asked.

He shrugged.

"Sometimes I'm forced to do a dumb date. My mom sets me up sometimes." Katsuki replied.

Yurei let out a tired sigh.

_Will I ever be able to date again? Are all men just garbage, except for a rare few?_

"What do you usually do?" Katsuki asked.

"If I didn't have a date, then I'd spend it with Ikari. We'd binge eat chocolate, buy flowers, watch dumb rom-coms." Yurei answered.

"He sounds like a girl." Katsuki responded.

"He definitely wasn't that…. I don't know what he was, honestly. Shit, when the fuck is my doctor's appointment?" Yurei grumbled as she pulled out her phone, and pulled up her calendar.

That morning.

She was an idiot.

"Shit." Yurei grumbled, and grunted loudly in annoyance.

"What?" Katsuki asked.

"My last fucking appointment was today, and I missed it. It was to check in on how I was healing from the ten fucking surgeries I had because of that shit head." Yurei replied angrily, and tried to take deep breaths to calm down.

"Is training going to affect that at all?" Katsuki suddenly asked.

"The healing?" Yurei asked, shifting to look at him, and he nodded. "I don't think so. Most of the healing is done, thanks to a great medic at the H.T.S. My dad asked them to use their quirk to heal up my worse wounds. The wounds themselves are unique enough that they want to check on it regularly."

Yurei turned back to look at the ceiling, trying to not feel the anger, embarrassment, and hatred for the doctor appointments. They were always so invasive.

She _hated_ having people rummaging around her crotch and inspecting it. She had no idea how her mom could do it for a living.

"You hate doctors, huh?" Katsuki asked.

She let out another tired sigh.

Maybe she could do the exam on herself. Ask the doctor what to look for.

Her mom started to call, probably about the appointment.

She instinctively threw her phone at the wall, regretting the decision immediately, and put her arms up when it bounced back.

It flew at Katsuki, and he caught it.

He tossed it onto her stomach.

The screen was cracked and dark.

She cursed again under her breath, slowly picking up the smashed phone, and felt like crying.

She broke her phone.

Her mom was probably going to panic.

"... can I use your phone to call my mom?" Yurei asked him.

"No way. I'm not going to let you break it." Katsuki retorted.

"Then can you tell her that I dropped my phone and will call her back later?" Yurei requested.

He pulled out his phone, sighing, and seemed to be sending the text.

"Thank you." Yurei said, and wished that she could calm down.

She felt like screaming and hitting everything.

She was better than that.

"Sent." Katsuki said.

"Thank you." Yurei said.

She focused on her breathing.

"She said that she's coming to pick you up for your appointment. She'll be here in ten." Katsuki said.

Yurei got up, grabbing her broken phone and school bag, and hurried upstairs.

15.

February 14th, Wednesday, 3:20 PM

About ten minutes later, there was a knock from the window, and Katsuki looked up to see Yurei's mom outside. She was waving to him.

He got up, walked to the main doors, and let her in.

"Thank you, Katsuki, I appreciate this so much. Is she in her room?" She asked.

"Probably." Katsuki shrugged, and casually went back to his seat, propping his feet up on the table.

As he messed with his phone, he thought back to Yurei's sudden burst of anger. He'd seen guys do that in frustration before, but never girls.

Lately he'd started enjoying seeing her various reactions to things, but something about that just… he wasn't sure. It felt too relatable.

He wasn't sure why she was upset, but that anger was relatable.

16.

February 15th, Thursday, 5:50 AM

As Katsuki stretched and warmed up for class the next day, he casually looked around, waiting for Yurei to show up. Since this was replacing their pre-class workouts, he was planning to be more obnoxious to her, to get her moving. She was way too slow and didn't try, spending her time gossiping with the girls.

"Have you seen Yurei today?" Eijirou asked him.

"No." Katsuki replied.

"I thought you were doing early morning training with her?" Eijirou asked.

"All Might asked us to not do it before class, so that we're not tired when we get here. I haven't seen Blue Hair Girl since last night, when her mom picked her up for a doctor's appointment." Katsuki said.

"She hasn't been answering her phone."

"She dropped it and broke it yesterday. She had to use my phone to text her mom about the dumb appointment." Katsuki said, but Eijirou gave him a weird look.

Hanta and Denki were similarly looking at him weird.

"What?" Katsuki snapped.

"You were watching a bunch of rape videos the other day, Yurei's phone suddenly breaks on Valentine's Day, you're the last person to see her, and she doesn't show up to class." Denki said.

"What the fuck are you implying? She probably just slept in." Katsuki snapped.

"If you did anything to her Katsuki I will break you." Eijirou said suddenly, with a venom he'd never seen from him before.

He was pissed.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "I'll go wake her up. Let All Might know that I'll be back, if he asks."

He broke out into a sprint, enjoying the feel of his muscles working, and made his way over to the dorms. They weren't too far.

He happened to get there as Ochaco was rushing out, so he didn't have to bother running back for his ID. He hurried up the steps two at a time, got to Yurei's door, and started banging his fist against it.

"You overslept, idiot!" Katsuki yelled.

There was some kind of sound coming from inside.

Sniffling.

"You sick, or something?" Katsuki asked. He went for the doorknob, surprised to find it unlocked again, and rolled his eyes as he strolled in, and turned on the lights.

Yurei was curled up in bed, under the covers.

"You can't fucking skip class, idiot. You're not getting out of exercising." Katsuki said, and grabbed the edge of the blankets, but she tightened her grip, and let out a sob.

He froze, hearing more sobs, and looked around the room.

No sign of a struggle.

There was a new phone on her desk.

"Why are you crying?" Katsuki asked.

The bundle under the covers shook.

More sobs.

Eijirou and the others were definitely going to jump to the wrong conclusions if they found her like this.

"Are you crying because of me?" Katsuki asked.

"N-n-n-no." She stammered weakly.

He grit his teeth, and looked out the door. They would definitely come to the wrong conclusion. Katsuki was bad enough at explaining situations, this wouldn't end well. He didn't mind people hating him because he was an asshole. He did care if they hated him for a situation that he didn't cause.

"Why are you crying?" Katsuki asked.

She just kept crying.

"How can I make you stop crying?" Katsuki asked.

"I-I-I j-j-ju-u-ust w-w-want-t to be-be al-l-lone." She stuttered, barely coherent.

"When Eijirou and Mina see you crying, they're going to think that I did it. Eijirou was pissed when he didn't see you in class." Katsuki said.

She kept crying.

He wasn't good at this.

"What if I got you food? That worked last time you started crying." Katsuki asked.

Sobs.

"Is it because you didn't have a date for Valentine's Day, or-"

"N-n-o-o." She choked out.

"Did something happen at the doctor's office? Do you have cancer or some shit?" Katsuki asked.

"No, j-j-just g-go aw-ay." She said, and sobbed again.

_Fuck._ Katsuki cursed in his head, and struggled for a solution as he stood there. He was good at making people cry, not making them stop, and he wasn't sure what to tell people in class to make himself look not guilty.

_Why do I care so much?_

"... I'll just tell people you're sick." Katsuki said, and he was pretty sure that he heard as mangled "okay" from her. "Get your shit together, alright?"

She just kept crying.

17.

February 15th, Thursday, 10:00 AM

She didn't show up to history class, either.

18.

February 16th, Friday, 9:00 AM

The next morning, Katsuki watched the door anxiously, wondering if Yurei would show up.

His index finger tapped anxiously on his notebook. Conversations went unnoticed around him. He just kept searching for that blue and yellow hair, willing her to magically appear.

Just as class was about to start, she slipped inside, walked to her normal seat, and avoided eye contact. She looked like shit.

Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, instead of the usual braid, and she was wearing sweats. She was hunched over, awkward, and practically looked like a different person. _What the hell happened at that doctor's appointment?_

Katsuki looked behind him, and was able to see bags under her eyes. Her ponytail was loose, letting strands hang on the sides of her face, and hid some of her face. She kind of looked like a zombie.

_Maybe she got bit at the doctor's office…._

19.

February 20th, Tuesday, 9:00 AM

Katsuki was anxious as hell throughout the entire weekend.

Yurei just went dark, and stopped talking to everyone. When she wasn't in class, she was locked in her room. She either didn't give anyone her new number or wasn't responding to them. The only thing she bothered to say was that Katsuki didn't do it, and to leave her alone.

No one fucking believed her.

They gave him nonstop shit, and constantly blamed him for whatever the fuck was going on with her. And now, he knew the general plan for the exercise they'd been signed up for, but they had planned to do more. Since they didn't finish phasing out the details, they were probably going to flop.

He showed up to the back entrance, early as planned, and when he got to the warehouse, he was surprised to find Yurei already inside. She was talking to Aizawa, and seemed upset.

"You're tying my hands here, Aizawa. If you just wanted a regular simulation, why ask us to do all the extra research and preparation?" Yurei asked.

"You're still getting the extra credit, but this program is new, and we're still figuring it out. If you stay, you'll be asked to use only one of your quirks." Aizawa explained.

"What's going on?" Katsuki asked.

"We've been demoted. We either work as grunts or leave." Yurei said, and Katsuki turned to Aizawa.

"I'm sorry, Bakugou. We asked the H.T.S. to look over our plans, and they asked us to take a different route. You'll both still get credit for the work you did." Aizawa assured.

"Why did the H.T.S. disapprove?" Katsuki asked.

"Publicity. They want more heroes and better funding, and having me torture 18 year olds goes against the image they want." Yurei answered.

"If you stay, we're going to ask that you hold back." Aizawa said, addressing Katsuki.

"What's the point if I'm holding back?" Katsuki asked.

"I'm gonna bail. You staying?" Yurei asked Katsuki. She looked so tired.

"No." Katsuki answered.

"Cool. Later." Yurei said, and waved off Aizawa.

Katsuki watched as she walked away, wondering if he should go after her. No one had seen her outside of class in days; she even used her quirk to move between locations, so people didn't see her walking to and from class. If he let her go, he wasn't sure that he'd get another chance to talk to her.

Katsuki ran over to her, catching up, and walked with her.

She was in a casual outfit, very layered, with dull colors. She was in dark brown loose pants, dark shirt and jacket, and light scarf around her neck. Her hair was wrapped up and hidden in a black hat. Her skin pale and ashen. Eyes dead.

He grasped for what to say, but nothing good came to mind.

"_What happened at the appointment?"_ Would probably make her run off. "_Why are you being dumb?"_ Wouldn't be much better. "_You've been skipping training, idiot."_

"You look nice." Katsuki blurted.

She glanced his way, seeming surprised.

"... I look like trash. What are you talking about?" Yurei asked.

"You could be worse." Katsuki shrugged.

"... thanks, I guess." Yurei replied.

"Training at six?" Katsuki asked.

She paused, seeming to think it over.

As much Katsuki pushed her into workouts, he was aware that he couldn't actually force her to. Physical violence only worked so much against people who could phase through punches.

She didn't answer for a while, going through the exit, and outside the walls, where it was less crowded.

"Why do you want to be around a pathetic person like me?" Yurei asked him. "I'm weak and pathetic. Just like you said."

"Your quirk isn't." Katsuki said, and she paused. They both stood on the side of the path. "What, have you been moping in your room from dumb self confidence issues or something?"

"Or something." Yurei said.

He let out an annoyed sigh, and looked around. No one was close by to overhear them.

"We're going to be working together, alright? Your quirk and mind are strong, you just need to build muscle, too. That'll make you less dependent on me in the field. You come up with good strategies, and your quirk is great, but it'll be safer for both of us if you have physical training." Katsuki said, hoping that made sense.

He usually wasn't so nice to people.

He wanted those assholes to leave him alone.

"Your strategy for interrogation was so good, they had to take it out of the scenario today." Katsuki added.

She smiled a little as she looked away.

"If you don't show up in the commons at six, I'll burn down your room. Get your shit together." Katsuki said, and walked off.

20.

February 21st, Wednesday, 7:00 PM

The next night, Yurei's parents held a dinner party. Mirio and his family would be there. Katsuki and his parents would be there.

Yurei showed up a little early to help set up, and was already dressed up, as requested.

Since her dad was still injured, he sat in the living room watching TV.

As they finished setting the table and getting things ready, Yurei could sense her mother's frustration and anger. Her mom could sense her sadness, and that was making her frustrated. As Yurei was getting utensils out, her mother paused near her, napkins in her hand.

"It was just a doctor's appointment, Yurei. I shouldn't have had to use my quirk to make you go. They were a professional, not some boy from your class." Her mother said.

Yurei moved, bringing the utensils to the table, and keeping her gaze down.

"You're over exaggerating, Yurei. It's been months since it happened, and you need to move on. Life goes on." Her mother said in the kitchen

Yurei focused on the silverware.

"It was just a doctor's appointment." Her mother added.

21.

February 21st, Wednesday, 7:20 PM

Katsuki was tired as he trudged up the steps to the Kasai residence.

His mom was extra nightmarish that day. Even his dad was obnoxious.

His dad rang the doorbell, and not long after, Mr. Kasai appeared, dressed in a suit. Everyone was too dressed up for this.

"Welcome, thank you all for coming. Please, come in." Mr. Kasai said as he stepped to the side. As they walked in, they took their shoes off by the door.

The house was pretty nice. Nothing amazing. The walls were a simple light yellow, with decorative fans hung in places. They had a lot of art pieces on the walls, which varied in skill level and looked homemade.

Mrs. Kasai and Yurei walked over, and Katsuki was briefly stunned by how pretty Yurei looked. She still looked tired, but she had the same set up as her date with Tenya. Beautiful dress, curves, and vibrant yellows and blues. He wanted to run his hands down those curves.

Their parents started chatting, and Katsuki noticed that she seemed sadder than that morning. She didn't really talk back to him at training that morning, which made it feel awkward and weird.

"Yurei, why don't you show Katsuki your old room while we wait for the other guests?" Mrs. Kasai suggested.

"Sure." Yurei said with a smile.

"Be nice." His mom growled in his ear, before he walked over to follow Yurei upstairs.

He was led to a room at the top of the stairs. She leaned against the doorway, not going in, while Katsuki walked past her to get inside. A pink bed, large DVD and book collection, popular Japanese pop artists on the walls. It felt like a generic girls room.

"I wonder how mom got the blood out." Yurei said, causing him to look over.

She was staring the floor by her bed.

"... bad period…?" Katsuki asked.

"I got stabbed 90 times. Ten fucking surgeries to not die." Yurei replied.

His eyebrows rose slightly. He figured that that incident happened while on the job, or something.

Yurei walked across the room, suddenly, and picked up a small stuffed penguin on the window sill. Her eyes looked so dead as she eyed the childish object, sending a chill down his spine. She picked it up, opened up the back, and pulled out a small camera.

… _creepy…._

"I used to have sleep issues freshman year of high school. I thought recording me sleep would help figure out what was going on. I forgot about it." Yurei said, and pulled out what seemed to be a small memory disk. She had a tiny case for it, and put it in her pocket with her phone.

"I heard that you hung out with Mina today." Katsuki brought up.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded, seeming lost in thought as she stared at the penguin.

Then, she tossed it back onto the window sill, and walked back over to the doorway. This room seemed to put her on edge.

"So why'd he stab you?" Katsuki asked.

"He had a bad day, and took it out on me." Yurei answered.

"That was the guy that scared you so bad your quirk stopped working, right?" Katsuki asked, and she tensed, her eyes going wide. "You told me when we were in the hospital, after the raid."

She relaxed slightly, and looked away.

"Yeah. Same guy." Yurei said in a low voice.

"Why'd you let him get so close with a knife?"

"He never lashed out at me before that. I trusted him." Yurei said, and a pit formed in his stomach.

"_I trusted him."_

"You ready for this weekend?" Katsuki asked, changing the topic.

"Yeah. It'll probably be pretty boring." Yurei said.

This weekend would be their first working at H.T.S.

22.

February 21st, Wednesday, 7:50 PM

As the dinner went on, Yurei tried to stay quiet and out of conversation. She was also looking up information about Momentum's agency on her phone, under the table and out of the way.

A sudden slap to her wrist startled her.

"No phones at the table." Her mother whispered.

Yurei sighed and put it away.

"What do you do for fun, Katsuki?" Her dad asked.

"Train." Katsuki said with a shrug.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Stripper_

February 23rd, Friday, 3:00 PM

Yurei and Katsuki sat next to each other on the bus. Their bags were by their feet, and they ignored the chatter around them.

Yurei stared out the window passively, watching the buildings go by, and wondered what would happen tomorrow.

H.T.S. paid for a hotel for them. Every Friday, they would take the bus to town, to the hotel by H.T.S. HQ. Every Saturday and Sunday, they would work at HQ for however long their bosses wanted. Every Sunday evening, they would take a bus back to UA.

Katsuki suddenly smacked her arm, getting her attention.

"What do you want to do for dinner?" He asked.

She shrugged.

"That doesn't help." Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes.

"Buffet would be ideal. I'm going to be pretty hungry." Yurei said.

Katsuki started to look up buffets around their hotel.

"There's a sushi buffet." Katsuki said.

"Sounds good." Yurei nodded.

She went back to looking out the window.

1.

February 24th, Saturday, 9:00 AM

The next day, when Katsuki and Yurei got to HQ, Heimi was there.

They were all dressed in casual clothes.

"I'm looking forward to working with you both. When you start working here, I'll be the person you report to. I'm in charge of recruiting heroes for H.T.S. and sending them into the field. As full time heroes, there will be some flexibility in what you do, and I'm always open to suggestions or critiques." Heimi introduced.

He was short, at only five feet tall, but had a charismatic smile and charm.

"Today, we're going to go over some pretty standard stuff. H.T.S. mission statements, our goals, and how we work. We'll sign some paperwork. At the end of the day, I'd like to take Bakugou out to dinner, to get to know him. I've already known you for a long time, Yurei."

2.

February 24th, Saturday, 6:00 PM

Katsuki felt strangely nervous when Yurei left his side.

Heimi took him to a small ramen place down the street after going over orientation. Katsuki had made an effort to be quiet and absorb information that day. He learned a lot about H.T.S., and those documentaries Yurei had him watch were helpful.

They sat in a booth, and were given menus. The place was busy that day.

Katsuki skimmed the menu, and felt strangely nostalgic for his cafe study sessions with Yurei. He liked their sandwiches.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Bakugou?" Heimi asked.

"No." Katsuki replied.

"Are you thinking of asking Yurei out?" Heimi asked.

"No."

"Really? You two seem cute together." Heimi said.

The waitress came over and took their order. The way Heimi looked at him was weird, but Katsuki shrugged it off. Heimi's impression of Katsuki mattered, but not enough for him to overanalyze his gestures.

"Do you enjoy partying at all? I'm betting you're a ladies man, right? They must climb all over you at school." Heimi said.

Katsuki thought back to his first party that term, when he was drugged by a woman trying to get into his pants. "I sometimes go clubbing with friends. It's alright." He said with a shrug.

He recalled that one dance that wasn't too bad, and resulted with Yurei drunkenly crying all over him.

"Well, with this job, there are information gathering missions I can set you up on. Some of them involve attractive women." Heimi said.

"I just want to fight things." Katsuki said.

"So if I sent Yurei somewhere to gather information, you would be content going with her as back up, in case something bad happens?" Heimi confirmed.

"Sure." Katsuki shrugged.

"There will be times where you and Yurei will be asked to be body guards for a high profile witness. If, say, you and Yurei got into an argument, would you still be able to do your job professionally?" Heimi asked.

"We fight all the time, and we work fine together." Katsuki said, and Heimi chuckled.

"Good, good. What kind of girls are you into, Katsuki?" Heimi asked.

_Why does he keep asking weird questions like that?_ Katsuki wondered angrily, and held back from snapping at him.

"I'm not interested in dating anyone." Katsuki said.

"Not even men?" Heimi asked.

"Are you hitting on me?"

"No, sorry, I was just curious. Most boys your age can't wait to get a girlfriend, if they don't have one already. I'm just trying to get an idea for what you're like as a person." Heimi replied.

_There better be more fighting later._ He thought angrily.

3.

February 24th, Saturday, 7:20 PM

The hotel was nice.

Yurei lounged in her room, sitting on her bed, wearing a robe and towel on her head for her long hair. There were papers spread out around her, and she'd spent most of her day going over the hero contract. H.T.S. was offering a pretty nice package.

Pay was good. They covered approved training workshops. Health. Dental. Travel expenses. They offered a lot more to heroes than to their detectives, like her dad.

She knew the pay would be better, but she didn't know it would be this good. Even as a student intern, they were paying her more per hour than what they paid her dad.

_They have a lot less people to pay, now._ She thought sadly. There were going to be hiring a lot of new people soon.

She didn't know how her dad would react if she worked somewhere else…. For now, she was looking at her options for working part time at H.T.S. and then part time somewhere else. Just like he'd suggested in the past.

During the dinner the other night and orientation, they made it clear that they valued Bakugou more than her. They wanted flashy; Bakugou was flashy.

Yurei wasn't. She was quiet, professional, and effective. Even her superhero costume was boring, being a mix of grays and subtle turquoise.

What they needed, practically, were heroes like her. Katsuki was good, but they were looking at him for the wrong reasons, and that annoyed her. If she was in Heimi's position, she'd go about hero recruitment very differently.

Her phone vibrated next to her, and he checked her new message. Momentum set up a meeting time and date for his niece, and also said that his agency might offer her more pay soon, once he tells his boss that she started working at H.T.S.

They were already offering her a fair amount for an internship with them, plus it worked with her schedule. Weekends at H.T.S., school on weekday mornings, Orion Agency on weekday afternoons, two times a week. It wouldn't be a lot of hours there, but it would still be extra experience for her.

Loud banging came from her door, and she looked up in alarm.

"Oi. I got extra food on my way back." Katsuki barked.

She chuckled, and got up. She opened the door for him, and he shoved his way in, seeming aggravated. His eyebrows were knitted together, angry red eyes scanning every inch of the room, and his shoulders were tense.

Heimi seemed to touch on a sensitive topic for him.

"How'd the dinner go?" Yurei asked.

"He's a fucking pervert. He kept asking about what kind of people I would fuck." Katsuki replied, dropping the food on the counter and started to get it out. "Fucking creep."

"He was probably just trying to bond with you." Yurei said.

"Why the fuck would someone want to bond with someone else over what gets their dicks hard?" Katsuki asked angrily, and had one of the containers moved to the side, likely hers. He set chopsticks on top.

"I don't get it, either. Guys are weird." Yurei said with a smile, and opened up the box, finding stir fry inside.

"They're disgusting." Katsuki grumbled.

_I wonder how oblivious he is, or if he just doesn't want to talk about it._

"Have you gotten any other internship offers?" Yurei asked curiously.

"Not many. The one I did before sucked. My boss kept shoving me into jeans and brushing my hair." Katsuki grumbled, and started to shove pieces of chicken into his mouth.

She slowly ate, quietly observing him. He was so aggravated and tense, even growling between bites.

"The internship here sounds fine, I just hate the people." Katsuki grumbled.

She slowly nodded.

She wondered if he would enjoy working anywhere. He wasn't exactly easy to get along with, and most people in their profession, especially at his level, were men. The places willing to put up with his personality would likely all be pigs in respect to women and sex, which would keep him upset and angry.

"The fuck are you looking at me that way, for?" Katsuki snapped.

"I was just wondering if you'd be more happy at a workplace with more women." Yurei said.

"Women suck, too. All they talk about are butts and dicks. Men talk about boobs and pussies. Men are just more aggressive in shoving their dicks in places that it's not okay." Katsuki explained.

"Does it bother you when Mina and I talk about that stuff?" Yurei asked, and he paused.

"You're not as bad as Mina." Katsuki said.

"Let me know if I say something that makes you uncomfortable, okay?" Yurei requested.

"... whatever." Katsuki mumbled, and shoved another big bite into his mouth.

_You're so interesting, Katsuki._

4.

February 25th, Sunday, 11:00 AM

The next morning, Katsuki and Yurei were split up again.

He really wished that they would stop doing that.

Heimi walked with him a few blocks away, wearing casual clothes, but he seemed a little more casual than the day before. His jeans looked worn, there were a few stains and holes in them, and his leather jacket was similarly damaged.

"At our job, we have to get information. Since we stop sex traffickers, we have to go to unseemly places. Sometimes, you'll be tasked to guard someone working undercover, or be there while they're working to get information from them, or things like that. So, you'll need to blend in." Heimi said, and went to a random building, holding the door open for Katsuki.

Tobacco smoke and stale air came from inside.

_A dangerous biker bar with the potential for a fight?_ He wondered hopefully, and went inside, but was disappointed to see half-naked women on poles instead.

"Some of our informants are strippers, which is a perk of the job." Heimi said, and paid for their entry fee.

_This explains some of the paperwork I signed yesterday._

There weren't a lot of men in the dimly lit space. Katsuki was surprised that a place like this would be open this early.

Heimi clapped his shoulder, gave him a smile, and walked him over to the stage.

Most of the dancing women sent him winks. There were five dancers on stage, at most wearing a bra and underwear.

Heimi gently shoved him in a chair, and sat next to him.

"You can't just stand by the door all stiff when you're here to get information. You have to blend in. Relax." Heimi told him in a low voice.

One of the dancers got closer to them.

Katsuki looked around, finding that the other men were sluggish and drunk. The woman in front of them wore high heels and wore a long, blond wig. She had heavy makeup, small breasts, and was gyrating her hips to the music.

"This is my nephew, Doki! This is his first time! Treat him good, Candy!" Heimi said, clapping Katsuki's back again, and jostling around, as if he was drunk. He had a giant smile on his face.

"Your nephew? Is he as generous as you are, uncle?" Candy asked in a weird voice.

"I'm paying for him tonight." Heimi said.

Candy sent a wink at Katsuki, and giggled.

Katsuki watched as she went down the steps to the side, and strolled up to him, smiling. The glitter shined on her cheeks. When she straddled him, setting her knees on either side of his legs, he tensed. She put his hands on her hips, and he moved robotically, completely out of his element.

He felt the heat on his face move south, and horror crept along his chest like hundreds of tiny needles.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle with you." She giggled in his ear.

"_Just pretend like it's a lollipop. Milk comes out if you lick it enough."_

He shook away the memory, startled when she shoved her chest into his face. Although he tried to not react, his body betrayed him, lurching as her hips moved on his lap, and he realized that he had an erection. _What the hell?_

He didn't feel in control of his body, and instantly, his stomach twisted and churned. He froze, absolutely horrified, and had no idea what to do.

The air was thick and heavy, making it harder and harder for him to breathe. The stench of perfume and smoke stung his nose and eyes.

His heart raced in his chest, thudding loud in his ears and blending with the sound of pop music from the speakers. The dancer grabbed his hair, her long nails scraping along his scalp, pulling his head back, and she leaned down, breathing along his neck.

He groaned as she ground against his erection.

"_You're so good at that, Katsuki. You're making so much milk."_

"_It tastes bad."_

"_Do you not want the chocolate anymore?"_

His grit his teeth as his body reacted, convulsing, and he shut his eyes.

Dread, hatred, and guilt washed over him.

"He's a bit strong, I forgot to warn you. Here's extra." Heimi said nearby, and Katsuki struggled to get his breath back as she got off of him. The room seemed a lot warmer than before, the air thicker, and his eyes wouldn't focus quite right. "You won't be able to do this on every shift, but every once in a while to maintain your cover is fine."

Katsuki wasn't used to feeling this way. He felt exhausted yet tense, wanting to take a nap or leave, and he didn't like the conflicting and strange emotions tugging at him like tug-a-war, trying to tear him apart from the inside.

He didn't like these feelings, preferring to be literally anywhere but here. He'd rather walk on coals or burn his face off than do that shit again.

He didn't like these feelings. They were grotesque, strange, and he wanted them gone.

5.

February 25th, Sunday, 12:00 PM

Yurei and Koga walked into the office, holding several bags of food. Yurei smiled to people that they passed, and when they reached the break room, they set down the bags of food on the table.

The phase quirk user could sense Katsuki somewhere in the building, his feelings unique and recognizable. He was really, really upset.

"We don't have to wait for them. Heimi warned that they might be late." Koga told her, and she nodded absently, helping her set up and getting her plate together.

She could sense him getting closer. The cloud of gloom and despair was nearing them.

"How are you two lovely ladies doing?" Heimi asked as he walked in with a smile.

"We're doing fine. How was your little field trip?" Koga asked.

Katsuki had a pretty good poker face on. He just looked indifferent; his cheeks were a little redder than normal. Jaw tense.

"It went great! Right, Katsuki?" Heimi said and clapped him on the back. Katsuki tensed and sent him a glare.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted indifferently.

_What the hell happened? _Yurei wondered.

"What did you two do?" Heimi asked as he went to get food.

"Talked about the culture of some places we get information." Koga replied. As they chatted, Yurei sat down at the other table, and started to eat.

Koga and Heimi sat across from her. Katsuki sat next to her, sitting a little closer than usual. Yurei pulled out her phone, and discreetly texted him.

Heimi and Koga were joking about something, distracted.

_Me: Do you want me to use my quirk to calm you down?_

_K. Bakugou: Ya._

Their hands brushed together as she went to take a bite of her food, allowing her to calm him down. His posture relaxed slightly, shoulders relaxing, and breathing calming down.

"So Yurei, any cute boys at school?" Heimi asked.

"Nah. They're all weirdos like this one." Yurei joked with a nod in Katsuki's direction.

"At least my hair isn't blue." Katsuki retorted.

"My hair is fucking gorgeous. You look like you rolled out of bed five minutes ago." Yurei replied.

6.

February 25th, Sunday, 9:00 PM

By the end of the day, she was still using her quirk on him.

They were on the bus, heading back to school, and the people around them seemed to be asleep or distracted. The windows were dark as they went down a poorly lit road, the stars few and far in between from light pollution, and rare working streetlight briefly illuminated the road.

Everything was quiet, and Yurei had mentally debated how to go about talking to Katsuki.

"Let me know when you want me to release my quirk, okay?" Yurei told Katsuki in a quiet voice.

"Not yet." He said softly, continuing to stare out the window, and looking lost in thought.

"Alright… is there any other way I can help? Do you want to talk about what happened?" Yurei asked.

"No." Katsuki replied.

He was so still. So quiet.

"... can I hold your hand?" Yurei asked.

He shifted, moving his hand out from his jacket pocket, and she reached for it. His palms and fingers were calloused and rough.

She shifted, still holding his hand, and rested against him, putting her head on his shoulder. Refraining from smiling, she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being so close to him.

7.

February 26th, Monday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, Yurei walked down the stairs, and found Katsuki in the commons.

He was a bundle of nerves, just like yesterday. He was dressed in the usual sweats, with his hands shoved into his pockets and gaze on the gray, dreary campus outside.

"Hey." Yurei said, which caused him to jump. "Sorry for scaring you."

"You didn't scare me, fuck off." Katsuki grumbled, but he seemed to calm down slightly with her arrival.

"How are you doing? How'd you sleep?" Yurei asked.

"I didn't. Whatever, though." Katsuki said.

"Did you have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep?" Yurei asked.

"Both." Katsuki said.

"Ah. I can help with the getting to sleep part with my quirk, but keeping you asleep gets a little more complicated." Yurei said.

"What happens if you keep someone asleep for several hours?" Katsuki asked.

"They don't dream, and I know my mom sometimes does it for my dad when he can't sleep, but it's a little sketch. Altering someone's brain while they sleep unnerves me a little." Yurei admitted, and yawned tiredly.

"Move your ass, let's go." Katsuki said with a nod to the door.

8.

February 26th, Monday, 9:00 AM

Yurei felt weird using her quirk on Katsuki again.

He asked her to keep using it during class.

He said that he felt too unstable, and would otherwise just not go to class.

She empathized with him a little too well on that.

9.

February 26th, Monday, 2:50 PM

At the end of their psychology class, Yurei met Katsuki outside, and walked with him out of the building.

"I have plans that take me off of campus soon, so I won't be able to keep my quirk on you." Yurei told him.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"It's a thing. I'd rather not talk about it." Yurei said.

"Like the doctor's appointment?" Katsuki asked.

Yurei tensed, not expecting that, and took a steadying breath.

"No. Momentum asked me to give his niece a little pep talk. He's picking me up in ten minutes." Yurei told him.

"What kind of pep talk?" Katsuki asked.

"I can't talk about that. Do you want me to wait until you're in your room before I release my quirk, though? I can check on you once I get back to campus." Yurei asked him.

"... yeah. I guess." Katsuki said with a nod.

10.

February 26th, Monday, 3:20 PM

Yurei sighed tiredly as she stood outside the teenager's door. Apparently, she was barely eating and never left her room, unless it was to use the bathroom.

Yurei was pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to do anything. It's not like rape victims had a secret language or some shit.

The door she leaned against was pink.

Momentum and the girl's parents were downstairs, to give them privacy.

"Hey, Kagura. My name is Yurei. Your cool uncle brought me over to talk to you." Yurei said.

She could sense her severe depression, anger, and anguish. It wasn't as bad as Katsuki, but Yurei guessed that her pain came in waves.

"You and I apparently have something in common. Guys are the fucking worst, aren't they?" Yurei asked, and heard a chuckle in the room. "You're lucky. After I was raped, I wish that I could have hid in my room. Unfortunately, the guy who raped me had spikes on his dick. I had to have ten surgeries to fix it up. That part was probably ten times worse than the actual rape part. It was bad enough that someone basically shoved a knife with other knives attached in there, but then a bunch of other people I didn't even know had to go in there, too. I didn't really have a choice but to press charges against the asshole who did it."

She wasn't sure if saying that would help.

It seemed to ease some of Kagura's anxiety, at least.

"I'm guessing that your uncle, parents, friends, whatever, have been pressuring you to name who did it, and that's a shitty thing to do. They don't get it. They don't understand. All they see is someone they care about in pain, and they want to inflict pain on the person that did it. They don't understand the pain that naming them will bring, and the stigma that'll come from going after them publicly.

"For me, my attacker spread rumors about me. He told everyone that I was a slut, and people believed him. That's not rare. People say shitty things about rape survivors. I'm betting that you've heard your friends talk about other sluts, or even talk about how someone lied about being raped. Rape victims have to deal with stigma from their friends, their families, and even people they don't know. It sucks, and it's terrible."

Kagura seemed to be getting strangely more calm.

Maybe having someone be blunt, and not cower behind pretty words and lies, was refreshing for her.

"So then, hiding in your room is pretty ideal. Saying nothing and pretending like it didn't happen, and try to maintain relationships on the lie, is an option. But then you have a bigger problem." Yurei said, and paused, wondering if Kagura would say anything. She didn't. "People who sexually assault other people, are usually repeat offenders. Most people who are raped are raped by the same person. If you do nothing, if you say nothing, then another girl will be raped by him.

"It's not your fault if that happens, that's his fault. His friends probably know, and didn't stop him. His parents are probably dicks. His counselors are probably dicks. I have no doubt that whoever attacked you has friends and family that know, and didn't say anything. If you don't say anything, that doesn't make you a bad person. That makes you sane." Yurei heard her sob inside, but they weren't sad sobs.

She could feel her happiness and relief.

Yurei waited a little while before speaking again.

"If you stay quiet, I won't judge you. I will add, though, that you're in a position to be better than all of those people I mentioned. Those ignorant parents, his ignorant friends, whoever else that knows but won't say anything- they are terrible human beings for letting him get away with it, but if you came forward, you would be a hero. You'd be better than all of those assholes. If you say nothing, you're a sane and normal person. You're still better than them. They weren't attacked and have no excuse for not coming forward. They're pathetic cowards that can eat shit.

"If you come forward though, when you don't have to? If you point at him, and yell about what he did, and tell everyone, that makes you one of the biggest heroes I know. I've met a lot of heroes, Kagura, and most of them could never be brave enough to do it.

"Being labeled a rape victim sucks, and I don't wish that on anyone, but that title is a badge, too. That means that someone wrecked your entire world, but you picked up the pieces and used them to beat the shit out of the person who hurt you." Yurei said.

She heard some movement from inside.

Crying.

The door opened, revealing a crying girl a little shorter than Yurei, and she pulled Yurei in for a hug.

She felt like back at the funeral, with the widow.

Another person seeing her as more than what she was. Putting unrealistic expectations on her.

11.

February 26th, Monday, 7:30 PM

Yurei was exhausted when she got back to the dorms that evening, still having homework to work on.

"Yurei, Yurei, Yurei, Yurei," Mina chanted from the commons, and fell off of the couch comically.

"Whaaaat?" Yurei whined loudly.

"We're drinking, I need you!" Mina yelled as she crawled along the floor, and flopped onto her side.

She was in her "sexy pink leggings."

"I think you've had a little too much, Mina." Eijirou said, and picked her up around the waist, putting her back on the couch.

"Pick me up again!" Mina told him, moving sluggishly, and accidently shoved her face into his chest.

"Why are you drinking so much so early?" Yurei asked.

"Rough day. That test in Hero Studies was brutal… Mina doesn't feel like she did well." Eijirou answered.

Yurei looked at the booze, and heavily considered the idea. _That sounds nice._

"Can I have some?" Yurei asked.

"Sure, take a seat." Denki said with a grin.

Yurei went over to the table, grabbed the blue vodka, and brought it to her lips. She chugged until she felt like she'd had enough, brought the bottle away from her lips, and let out a content sigh. Scorching head spread through her stomach, chest, and cheeks, and caused her muscles to relax.

"You chugged, like, a quarter of that." Mishirao told her.

"I had a long day. Probably scarred someone for life. Hopefully they don't kill themselves." Yurei said, and then saw Katsuki at the end of the couch. "Hey, Katsuki, you seem a lot better."

He grunted and glared at her.

"What about someone killing themselves?" Eijirou asked.

"Someone asked me to talk to a girl that was having a bad time. I was blunt. She seemed fine when I left, but she could do a 180 at anytime and try to commit suicide. I don't know why people think I'm a role model or some shit." Yurei said with a shrug, and walked over to plop between Katsuki and Mina.

"You're a great person, Yurei!" Mina cried out, and flopped onto her. "You're wonderful!"

"You are drunk." Yurei said, and shoved her back onto Eijirou.

"That changes nothing!" Mina shouted.

"So you gave someone a pep talk, Yurei?" Denki asked.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

"Was it a family member, or something?" Denki asked.

"No. Momentum wanted me to talk to someone that was having trouble, and thought I could relate. He put in a good word for me at his agency." Yurei said, and relaxed into the couch.

Katsuki reacted strongly to that, and she looked over, seeing that same angry glare from the other week. She tapped his forehead, calming him down.

"I'm still going to work at H.T.S. two days a week, but then two days at Orion. It's not going to conflict with anything." Yurei said.

"You're going to try and do two internships, full-time classes, and body training?" Katsuki asked her in a deadpan voice.

"It'll be great." She said, and yawned into her hand.

"So you already have two places offering internships?" Denki asked, his shoulders falling.

"I've had a lot of offers since the botched raid, but H.T.S. and Orion are the best. I'm going to be getting paid more at H.T.S. than my dad, and he's been working there for decades." Yurei said.

"How many offers have you gotten, Katsuki?" Denki asked.

"None of your business." Katsuki replied.

"I've gotten a couple. I'm really hoping that we get another opportunity for agencies to see us, though." Eijirou said.

"I haven't gotten any offers." Mina whined.

"I haven't, either." Denki said, and gave her a fist bump.

"I have to go do homework." Yurei groaned, and sat up.

"Which class?" Katsuki asked.

"History. I need to finish the paper that's due tomorrow. It's mostly done, I just need to edit and add a few things." Yurei said, and yawned into her hand.

"Why didn't you finish it over the weekend?" Katsuki asked.

"I worked on it over the weekend, I just didn't finish it." Yurei said, and yawned again into her hand.

12.

February 26th, Monday, 7:45 PM

As Yurei walked off, swaying along the way, Katsuki watched her go. He was tempted to help her on the paper, to help edit it.

He was relieved to feel her quirk working on him, too. He'd been stubborn when he got back to the dorms, not wanting to hide away in his room because of his dumb feelings, but it had been difficult. He lashed out, he nearly killed Mineta, and now people were on eggshells around him.

"Did something happen over the weekend?" Denki asked him.

"What do you mean?" Katsuki asked.

"You just… seem a lot different since she got here. You seem a lot more relaxed." Denki commented.

"Did she use her quirk on you!?" Mina asked as she flopped over, leaning closer to him and accidentally flashing a lot of cleavage at him. Eijirou was trying to pull her back, to stabilize her, but she kept moving and squirming.

"You are so drunk." Katsuki told her.

"She did, didn't she?" Mashirao asked.

"What the hell do you care?" Katsuki asked.

"It's not bad. I think it's cool." Denki said.

"I'm so jealous! She wouldn't use her quirk on me." Mina pouted.

"Let's talk about something else." Eijirou suggested.

"Do you think she's told anyone else about the thing?" Mina asked as she looked at Eijirou.

"Do you know what sounds great right now?" Eijirou asked her in an excited voice, and her eyes went wide. "Nachos."

"Nachos!" Mina exclaimed and fell off the couch.

13.

February 27th, Tuesday, 5:45 AM

"Uuuuugh." Yurei groaned as she walked to class, barely awake. Her coffee wasn't strong enough, and she'd need multiples in order to get through her day.

She stayed up late working on her paper. It hadn't been as finished as she thought, since she misread the instructions, and realized too late that she needed to write an extra five pages. Finding new sources, adding in five pages of paragraphs, editing, using her tiny printer to get it printed, but having to troubleshoot when it wouldn't work properly….

The phase quirk user plopped down next to the tracks, sipping her coffee quietly, and barely noticed the things going on around her.

"Oi." Someone said next to her, and she looked up, seeing Katsuki crouched next to her.

She was surprised that she didn't sense his impending doom before. Just like her, he was having a rough morning, but significantly worse. Not quite as bad as the other day, but still bad. Whatever happened at HTS really messed him up.

"I need you to do the quirk thing again." Katsuki told her.

"I don't want you to become addicted, Katsuki." Yurei said in a low voice.

"I won't. Just for this class. I overhead All Might saying that we're going to be doing partner fighting for this class today. It feels like my head is going to explode right now and I don't know if I'll be able to hold back." Katsuki explained.

"... alright." Yurei said, his features relaxed slightly, relief washing over him. She tapped his cheek, getting him to his baseline, and his muscles relaxed.

"Thanks. I'll buy you dinner tonight, since I know using your quirk makes you hungry." Katsuki said.

"Alright." Yurei said, and sipped her coffee.

"Any idea who we're going to be paired with?" Katsuki asked.

"They might try and mix it up. I would be surprised if we had the same partner as last time." Yurei said.

"... yeah." He nodded, and she looked at him again. There were bags under his eyes.

"You really should talk to someone about whatever is going on in your head, Katsuki." Yurei said.

"Are you talking to people about what happened to you?" He countered.

"Yes." Yurei replied, and he rolled his eyes as he stood. She bit her cheek as he walked away, and sighed, going back to her coffee.

"Everybody head over to the sparring area." All Might announced.

Yurei grunted as she stood, and started to walk.

All Might approached her.

"I heard what you did for Momentum's niece yesterday. She's finally eating and talking to people because of you." All Might said, and she looked up at him in surprise.

"Eh? Why?" Yurei asked.

"Whatever you said really inspired her. You're doing a good job." All Might said, and patted her on the shoulder. "I was also impressed with the research you did for the fake raid, and I'm sorry that we ended up not using it. Aizawa said you were pretty upset."

She sipped her coffee.

"I know that you've been through a lot, but you're doing a great job. Keep it up." All Might said, and gave her a thumbs up.

She thumbs uped him back, and he walked off to talk with another student.

As she quietly sipped her coffee, everyone joined around the concrete space.

_Coffee, coffee, coffeeeeee…._

"We're going to do short, paired off fighting. The goal is to get the other person out of the rectangle. Today, we're using the whole court." All Might announced.

They all got up and moved over to the grass, near the concrete platform.

"I'm going to try and pick partners that don't usually work together. Just do your best. One team has won once both other team members have been thrown out. The first round will be Shoji and Todoroki, vs. Sero and Ojiro." All Might announced.

Yurei continued focusing on her coffee as the fight started.

She was ready to phase if they got too close.

She finished her coffee about when they ended.

"The next round will be Jiro and Kasai, vs. Tokoyami and Koda." All Might announced.

She hadn't interacted with Kyoka much.

Yurei moved to her feet, yawning along the way, and made it onto the platform. She fist bumped Kyoka, who seemed similarly tired.

"Anyone fighting Yurei will be at a disadvantage." Denki commented.

"Everyone will be fighting multiple times today." All Might assured.

"Do you want this to end quickly, or actually put together a plan to fight them?" Yurei asked Kyoka.

"Eh." Kyoka shrugged.

"Begin!" All Might yelled.

Fumikage immediately came after her, moving fast, and Yurei phased, so that he couldn't hit her. He knocked Kyoka out immediately.

Yurei glided across the floor, grabbed Fumikage's body, and glided him out. Next, she glided Koji out.

"Jiro and Kasai win this match." All Might said.

Yurei yawned into her hand, and went back over to her sitting spot. She wished that she had more coffee.

"Next up, Bakugou and Hagakure, vs. Mineta and Iida." The teacher announced.

Tenya tensed.

Toru made a whining sound, and jumped when Katsuki looked her way.

Mineta and Tenya were lucky that Katsuki's emotions were capped. With the way Katsuki scowled, though, it was hardly noticeable. He looked as angry as ever as his hands sparked.

Iida and Mineta jumped, and were starting to sweat. Even Toru was scared, and she was on Katsuki's team.

Throughout the class, it was interesting to see Katsuki get teamed up with people.

Everyone he teamed up with, and faced, were terrified of him. Even Denki was frightened when he faced him in a fight, and they were friends.

_Am I the only person that can handle him?_ Yurei wondered. Deku was sitting near her, aptly taking notes of each fight, and she glanced over at his notebook. It was filled with handwritten notes.

"Hey, Deku," Yurei spoke, and scooted closer to him. "Are people always so scared to work with Katsuki?"

Katsuki was in the middle of a fight with Mashirao, Yuga, and Denki. Yuga was just trying to not get knocked out. He and Denki were the least agile of the group.

"Most of the time when Ka-chan is paired with someone, he'll run off and try to do it on his own… sometimes he'll yell and punch them in the face a lot." Deku said, and the last part he seemed a little awkward.

"Has he been able to work with anyone successfully?" Yurei asked.

"You. He works okay with Eijiro, but even they butt heads. When we were younger, he would have friends that would do things for him, but he didn't really work with them, they worked for him. He called the shots." Deku said.

"Why do you think he doesn't work well with others? Why does he work with me?" Yurei inquired.

Katsuki briefly paused in the fight, glancing their way, and she sent him a wave. He narrowed his eyes, and went back to fighting Mashirao, who had taken the opportunity to get some distance from him.

"I'm not sure. By all logic, he shouldn't like working with you at all, since you're arguably stronger. It might be because of the way you two worked together in the scenario a couple weeks ago." Deku said.

"How so?" Yurei asked.

"You recognized that he's strong and likes to attack people. You utilized that. Instead of sharing credit or trying to take everything down together, like most people try to do when they team up, you put him in a situation where he could go loose and wreak havoc on his own, while you did your own thing to take down the people that were more difficult for him to reach. You don't work together to fight one person or part of the opposing forces, you work together to take down all of them, and don't overlap much." Deku theorized.

That's what Yurei had guessed as well.

When the match was over, with Katsuki being the only one left, he turned back to Deku and Yurei, glaring at them.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" He asked.

"You. I was exchanging ideas with Deku about your partnering style, since he's known you for a while." Yurei said, and in the corner of her eye, saw Deku stiffen.

"Whatever." Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes.

"The next match will be Ashido and Kasai, vs. Bakugou and Kirishima." All Might said, and she could have sworn that she saw a sadistic glint in his eye.

"What!? But we hang out together all the time! You said that you were partnering us up based on who we interact with the least!" Mina exclaimed.

"But have you ever fought against Kirishima or Bakugou before?" All Might asked, and she paused, thinking about it.

_I'm already using my emotions quirk on him. Shifting from keeping his emotions stable to knocking him out while phasing might be difficult._

She'd already been using her quirk on him for a while, and knocking him out on top of that… well, it made her nervous to mess with his head so much.

Her biggest weakness was that Katsuki was fast. He also knew that he could hurt her if he phased with her. She couldn't risk just taking him out of bounds like the others.

_Katsuki has probably been thinking of ways to beat me in a fight since we met. That's probably the real reason he wanted to train with me._

Yurei and Mina walked to one side, while Katsuki and Eijirou walked to the other.

"How do you want to do this?" Mina asked.

"It'll be easy for me to take out Eijirou. Katsuki… I'm honestly not sure about." Yurei said.

"Eh!? You think Katsuki could beat you!?" Mina asked in a loud whisper.

"I'm honestly not sure. We haven't faced off against each other before, and he's been learning a lot about my quirk." Yurei said. Mina groaned, and faced their opponents.

Katsuki's eyes were on Yurei. She still wasn't sure about knocking him out.

Their classmates seemed extra interested, their heads perking up in interest.

"Begin!" All Might announced.

No one moved immediately.

"I don't wanna fight you, honey," Mina whined to Eijirou.

Yurei sunk into the floor, leaving only the top part of her head exposed, and then glided over to Eijirou. He let out a cry in alarm, and then, the ground erupted. Yurei ducked down, continuing to go, and estimated Eijirou's location.

She came up, only to meet more broken ground and fire. _Ah. He's trying to make it so that I can't see my target._

Yurei rose up higher, only to see and hear nothing but explosions.

_Shit._ He kept hitting her with explosions, and she was already forgetting where she was facing. He was purposely moving around her, so that she couldn't try to sense other people. The fire and sound was disorienting.

She moved towards him, and he jumped back, which allowed her to see. As he tried to throw explosions at her again, she glided back over to Mina, who had been facing against Eijirou.

"What was that!?" Mina yelled at her.

"I'll try to get Eijirou, at least." Yurei said, but Mina screamed, and Yurei realized that Katsuki was running at them full force. She grabbed Mina, phasing her, just before Katsuki threw his explosions at them.

Mina was screaming.

Yurei moved forward, reaching out, and almost got him, but his reflexes were too fucking fast.

Yurei then made a hard turn, gliding towards Eijirou fast. Yurei shoved her into him, causing him to catch her and fall back, and then she grabbed him, phased him, and glided towards the bounds.

She used the momentum to send him flying out, falling onto the grass.

"AAAH!" Mina yelled, and Yurei looked over, finding that Katsuki had thrown her at Eijirou. Then, without missing a beat, he went after her with his explosions.

She went at him, trying to touch him, but he dodged every single fucking time. She didn't know how he was able to see her coming in so much fire and smoke, and she caught him trying to guide her to the out of bounds.

He kept engulfing her in fire, to disorient her, and then lingered in one spot, trying to make her leap forward enough to get him.

She moved to the side, out of his explosions range, went back, getting space between them.

… she'd never been so challenged before in a fight.

She could stay phased longer than he could set off explosions, though.

_That might take a while, though._ Yurei thought grimly. She couldn't do her usual technique of bobbing her head in an area, getting an idea for where they were, and then going under and grabbing them. She couldn't charge him either, apparently.

Both of her quirks required contact.

She looked around at the rocks on the ground, that had been created by Katsuki throwing his explosion quirk on the ground.

_If I throw a rock at him during his explosions… what if I really hurt him, though? … I'll throw a small one to catch him off guard. If it's too small, though, he won't notice it._

He started running at her.

Yurei crouched down, sinking into the ground, and moved in a zig zag, grabbing small rocks along the way. When he got to her, he started engulfing her in explosions again.

She threw the rocks at him, causing him to falter, and then rushed him again.

He dodged her again.

_Damn it._

She didn't want to go into the ground again, because as soon as she came up, he'd fuck up the ground and throw explosions at her.

This was getting annoying.

"You have one minute to finish the match!" All Might announced.

_Shit._

Katsuki went all in. He started hitting her with louder explosions, and she had to put her hands over her ears. He moved erratically around her, so it was hard for her to figure out where he was.

She dived under, going to another part of the platform.

He spotted her almost instantly, and ran at her, throwing his explosion quirk at her to blind her.

She moved up more, and went to another part of the platform, but he kept those explosions on her.

Then, suddenly, they stopped.

"Time is up! This match is a tie!" All Might announced.

Yurei frowned as she went solid again, and locked eyes with Katsuki. Her quirk was still working on him, which was good. She was a little concerned that she'd lost focus too much in the explosion mayhem.

Yurei stood, and walked over to the sidelines.

"That was so intense." Denki commented.

"I didn't even know what was happening the entire time." Eijirou commented.

Before she sat down, she realized that an hour must be getting close, because she could feel her quirk on Katsuki begin to loosen. She walked over to him on the edge of the group, plopped down next to him, and poked his cheek, renewing her quirk.

"Thank you." He said in a low voice.

"For what?" She asked.

"Not releasing your quirk. You could have. You probably would have won if you had." Katsuki said.

"Losing a dumb exercise doesn't bother me. Besides, it was a good fight. No one has ever come close to beating me before. How the fuck are you so fast?" Yurei whined at the end, and he smirked slightly.

"You're just slow." He said.

"I am not slow." Yurei said.

"You can't even lift a sack of potatoes on your own." Katsuki told her.

"That joke is old and dumb." Yurei told him.

"It's fact." He replied with a smirk.

14.

February 27th, Tuesday, 3:00 PM

Katsuki asked her to use her emotions quirk on her for his 3 o'clock workout.

Mina asked her to join her for a zumba class, and insisted that she wear "sexy leggings" to the class.

The class and Katsuki's workout time happened at the same time in the gym building, so it worked out. The only downside was that the class went on for longer than an hour, which was the limit to her quirk per contact.

As she entered the gym, she waved to her old coworkers and classmates. Yurei and Mina got a lot of looks for their exercise outfits.

Mina spent a lot of time doing online shopping to find sexy exercise clothes. She wore a pair of pink and red leggings with a matching shirt, and then Yurei had a similar gray texture printed leggings and black shirt with the letters "shine bright" in silver.

Of course, Mina wanted to stop by the weight lifting part of the gym, to see Eijirou. When they got there, her cousin was there, too. He was on the other side of the room, busy talking to a girl that worked there.

Eijirou was with Mezo, Katsuki, Denki, Mashirao, and Rikido. Rikido was definitely the shy and awkward one of the group, blushing at Mina and Yurei's arrival.

"Hey babe." Eijirou greeted Mina, who jumped on him and pulled him in for a kiss.

"You look nice, Yurei. Cool leggings." Denki complimented.

"Thanks. Cool shirt- that's an American band, right?" Yurei asked, referring to his Green Day shirt.

"Yeah, I like American rock music." Denki replied with a smile.

"Are you going to lift weights today?" Katsuki asked her with a slight smirk, and she sent him a glare.

"No, I'm doing a zumba class with Mina. Hopefully caffeine kicks in before then." Yurei said, and yawned into her hand.

"Have you done zumba before?" Mashirao asked.

"No, so I'm going to do terribly." Yurei said.

"You dance good at the club. I'm sure you'll do fine." Denki assured.

After chatting for a while longer, Mina and Yurei made their way over to the second floor for their class.

15.

February 27th, Tuesday, 3:10 PM

Katsuki was tempted to leave early, just before Yurei's quirk loosens, to avoid any awkwardness. Ever since that dumb stripper, his head had been insanity. His thoughts raced from one thought to the next, jumbled in a tangled mess, and his heart felt like it was going to explode half the time.

With Yurei's quirk, his mind was still jumbled and dark, but at least it wasn't quite as bad.

"You know, if we do our sprints on the second floor, we might catch a glimpse of the zumba class. There are a lot of cute girls up there." Denki suggested.

"We would be super obvious, though." Eijirou pointed out.

"And the last guys that did that got kicked out of the gym for a year." Mezo added.

"Lame. I would love to see Yurei dancing right now." Denki said.

"Why? She's a shit dancer." Katsuki asked.

"Didn't you see those legs? And that butt?" Denki asked, practically drooling. Katsuki had seen it, and the leggings were flattering, but he hadn't thought anything more than that.

"Did anything happen between you two this last weekend? Weren't you two at a hotel together?" Eijirou asked, and the entire group turned to Katsuki.

"Different rooms, and it's for an internship. The guy training me was a creep, though. He took me to a strip club." Katsuki said, and all of them gasped, stopping what they were doing to get closer.

"Are you serious?" Denki asked him.

"Yeah, it was annoying. I thought we were going to go to a sketch biker bar full of people, or something, and it was a shitty stripper bar at noon. I don't even know why the fuck they were open that early." Katsuki described.

"I, hold on, why did you go to a strip club at noon?" Denki asked.

"Apparently, at H.T.S., a lot of their intel comes from strippers, or some shit, so he wanted me to be used to being there and know how to act like a regular. The stripper who danced on me was ugly, too." Katsuki described.

"Are you fucking serious? Working at H.T.S. gets you lap dances? While you're working?" Denki asked in astonishment.

"Yeah. It's annoying." Katsuki said.

"How the- how the fuck do I sign up? Like damn. Can multiple heroes intern there?" Denki asked, and the others seemed just as interested.

"They only have the budget for two full time heroes, but Yurei is thinking of working part time, so-" Katsuki said, and Denki instantly cheered, pumping his fist into the air.

"You don't even like sex. How did you of all people end up with that kind of job?" Eijirou asked him.

"I just want to fight people. There's a lot of people to fight through the H.T.S." Katsuki shrugged.

"Does this mean that Yurei gets to go undercover as a stripper?" Denki asked, drooling, and Katsuki punched him in the face, causing him to fall back. He seemed to still be daydreaming, just laying on the ground and twitching as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Did Yurei go with you to the strip club?" Eijriou asked.

"No, it was just me and my boss. It was super weird." Katsuki answered.

"How are you so lucky?" Mashirao asked incredulously.

16.

February 27th, Tuesday, 11:00 PM

Katsuki lay in his bed that night, with one hand under his head, and his gaze on the dark ceiling.

He couldn't sleep.

He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. Without Yurei's quirk, his mind went wild.

His heart raced.

His skin got damp and clammy.

And then, through the chaos, he kept thinking about those leggings. He hadn't thought anything of it then, probably because of her quirk, but he could imagine them perfectly now. Her butt was small, but it was getting more toned the more she exercised. Those leggings really emphasized their roundness, and didn't leave much to the imagination, even in his imagination.

He couldn't help but imagine running his hand along those cheeks.

Along her waist.

Her thigh.

His breathing was heavy, and he was painfully hard.

After what happened on Sunday, he didn't want to touch himself, and he didn't want anyone else to touch him, but these thoughts were maddening.

_Maybe it'll help me sleep._ He wondered.

After a few more minutes of struggling to sleep, he reached for his erection, and started thinking about those leggings again.

17.

February 27th, Tuesday, 11:00 PM

That night, as she lay in bed on the verge of sleep, she felt incredibly frustrated.

The mental image of Katsuki half naked kept entering her mind.

She was so tempted to look up that picture of him, half naked and smiling down at her.

_I don't like like him, I just like his body._

… _for imagination purposes, only._

_Of course._

She got busy on herself, hoping that sleep would soon follow.

18.

February 28th, Wednesday, 6:00 AM

Yurei couldn't stop yawning the following morning.

She decided to wear the leggings again, since they were so comfortable. Mina didn't want them back, since they were a little snug on her and fit Yurei perfectly. Yurei wore a large shirt over it, making her outfit seem less sexualized and feel more practical. When she got to the commons area, she yawned again, and felt a shift from Katsuki.

He turned away when she looked at him, but she caught the blush.

"You okay?" Yurei asked.

"Fine. Let's go." Katsuki said with a nod to the door.

19.

February 28th, Wednesday, 6:10 AM

Mirio was excited to workout early. He knew that Bakugou and Yurei would be there.

"I hate thiiiiiiis." Yurei whined loudly, and Mirio smiled as he rounded the corner. She was lifting weights again, with Katsuki looming over her.

"Suck it up. Just two more and we can go to burpees." Katsuki told her.

"I hate those even more." Yurei cried.

"You can do it, Yu Yu!" Mirio cheered. The bar suddenly fell, Katsuki caught it, but then Yurei's body phased through the bench to the ground.

"Oi, I told you, no phasing here!" Katsuki scolded her.

She accidentally smacked her face into a bar as she tried to roll out from under the bench. For a moment, she just lay there, moping, and Katsuki put the bar back on the hooks.

"Why'd you stop, Yu Yu? You were doing great!" Mirio asked as he came over.

"She always freaks out when other people are here." Katsuki answered.

"I don't 'freak out'." Yurei said, still under the bench.

Then, she phased out, sat next to the bench on the ground, and crossed her arms.

"Why are you nervous? You used to help me with my quirk all the time, when I was small and skinny. Everyone has to start somewhere." Mirio said.

She pouted and made a weird face.

"People are going to see you training at the H.T.S. gym, too. The more you exercise now, the less dumb you'll look then." Katsuki said, and she slouched more, making a weird sound.

"Oooh, I get it." Mirio said, and she looked up at him. "You've never had to try to be strong with your quirk. You've never had to start training from scratch."

Yurei teased him a lot when they were younger, since he didn't have as much control over his quirk. Even though their quirks were similar, she had significantly much more control than he did.

"I practiced my quirk all the time as a kid. That counts." Yurei told him.

"Yeah, but you were a kid, and it came naturally to you." Mirio argued.

"Not at first. I hit my head a lot, and it took a lot of practice to get the amount of control I had. I just never told you because I wanted to look cool for you." Yurei admitted, and Mirio paused, blinking at her.

… she always made it seem so effortless.

"Is your quirk actually just like mine, but you figured it out sooner?" Mirio asked.

"I don't think so. I do have more control over how I move, I just worked really hard when I was younger to make it seem easier than it was. I fell a lot at first, since I kept phasing through floors." Yurei explained, still making that face.

_I never knew that. Why didn't you tell me sooner, Yu Yu?_

"Do you want me to leave while you two train? I didn't want to interrupt, I just thought it would be fun if I could join you." Mirio asked.

"Nothing about this is fun. Katsuki yells at me and I cry a lot." Yurei said.

"If you did it right the first time, I wouldn't have to yell at you." Bakugou told her.

"You know that I'm terrible at this. I'm never going to 'do it right' on the first try." Yurei said, and they started to bicker.

Mirio wasn't sure what he thought about them being a couple. They seemed like an unlikely match.

_Bakugou dating anyone would seem like an unlikely match, though._ Mirio realized.

20.

February 28th, Wednesday, 8:30 AM

Mirio decided to do a little investigating. He walked around campus, hoping to run into a particular green-haired student, and found him walking in a small group.

Mirio grinned, and walked over to them, sending them a wave. They were all first years, and their eyes went wide in shock as Mirio approached them.

"Deku, right? Mind if I talk to you for a moment?" Mirio requested.

"Y-you want to talk to m-me?" Deku asked incredulously.

"Yep. It won't take long." Mirio said.

"We'll see you in class, Deku." One of the girls waved, and Deku paled slightly as his friends left without them. They were outside on one of the pathways, near a bench and plentiful trees.

"You've been friends with Bakugou for a while, right?" Mirio asked, and Deku blinked at him in surprise.

"I've known him for almost my entire life." Deku replied.

"Has he ever dated anyone before?" Mirio asked.

Deku paused, seeming to ponder it.

"I don't think so. He's not really into dating in general. On Valentine's Day he ran around with a spray bottle and squirted it at everyone he found kissing." Deku told him.

"Do you think that, if he did date someone, he would be kind to them?" Mirio asked.

Deku continued blinking up at him in confusion.

_You are adorably dense._

"I can't really imagine him dating anyone, honestly. The closest I would guess would be…." Deku started to say, and then the expression his face changed, as if it finally clicked in his head. "You're asking because you're worried about Yurei."

"Guilty. I know that she's capable of taking care of herself, but she's been through a lot recently, and I want to look out for her. She's been spending a lot of time with Bakugou lately." Mirio explained.

"I don't think they'll date, based on what I've seen, but Ka-chan seems to trust her, which is rare. They've started looking out for each other when they go to parties. I think Ka-chan likes her because she saved his life at the beginning of the term. Someone drugged his drink and he had a bad reaction to it." Deku explained, and Mirio's eyebrows rose.

"That was Bakugou?" Mirio asked, and Deku nodded. He knew that Katsuki was one of the people drugged, but he wasn't sure which one had had the bad reaction.

"When Yurei's date with Tenya went bad, she told Ka-chan, and then he beat up Tenya. It wasn't pretty." Deku said, and paled slightly.

Mirio had heard about that fight, but he'd been unaware that it was about Yurei.

"What did Tenya do to Yurei?" Mirio asked, and Deku's face paled even more.

"It's not my place to say. It was an awkward, gross misunderstanding." Deku said.

_I'll have to ask her about that later._

"I don't think Ka-chan will hurt her, though. At least, well, not in a manipulative way. He's a pretty violent person but I've never seen him hit her. Well, I mean he tried in class when we were sparring, but he didn't actually hit her, I think he was trying to disorient her with his quirk. They ended up tying that match." Deku explained.

"I see. Thank you for talking to me, Deku. I hope you have a nice day." Mirio said with his usual smile, and walked off.

21.

February 28th, Wednesday, 9:30 AM

As Aizawa droned on, Yurei kept thinking about that morning.

Mirio showing up had been insanely awkward. She ended up not getting to exercise as much as usual, and she flopped more than usual, too.

Mirio laughed a lot. Katsuki yelled and rolled his eyes a lot.

Someone nudged her arm, and she glanced over, seeing that Ochaco was holding a small bag of chocolates. The wrapping was blue with a unique logo with an eye in the middle.

She remembered that chocolate a little too well. That was handed out at her old campus, as a promotional thing. She remembered it because she ate it the same day that Ikari attacked her.

The idea of eating it again made her nauseous.

Yurei shook her head, "Thanks, though."

22.

February 28th, Wednesday, 3:00 PM

When her classes were done, Mina dragged her to the gym again. This time, they went as a group to oggle, and didn't even make up an excuse.

Mina, Momo, Toru, Hana, Kyoka, and Yurei sat on the edge of the room, giggling like idiots. Yurei needed to study, so she sat against the wall, reading her book from psychology to study for a test the following day.

"What ya reading, Yurei?" Someone asked, getting her attention. She looked up from her book, and was surprised to find that most of the guys in the room were shirtless or doing muscle poses.

She tried not to laugh.

"Studying for psychology test coming up." Yurei replied.

"I'm pretty good at psychology; I could help you study later, if you want." Hanta offered, and then jumped in pain when Katsuki walked past him and stomped on his foot. Hanta gave him an incredulous 'what the hell?' look, but it was ignored.

"I'm starting my internship in a couple of hours, which is why I'm studying now." Yurei said.

"At H.T.S.?" Eijirou asked. He was one of the shirtless ones.

"No, at Orion." Yurei answered, and most of the students gaped at her.

"Orion? Seriously!?" Denki exclaimed.

"I told you guys about it." Yurei said, and didn't miss Katsuki's glare.

"You didn't say it was with Orion!" Toru yelled at her.

"How did you get an internship with them!?" Denki yelled at her.

"Momentum was impressed. He put in a good word for me at his agency." Yurei answered, and Denki cried.

"Did you get an offer too, Katsuki?" Eijirou asked him.

"Yeah. I'm not stupid enough to do full time school and two different internships. She's going to crash." Katsuki replied.

"I didn't know you got an offer, too." Yurei said.

"I wonder if Deku got one, too." Mezo wondered.

"What the hell?" Denki said, giving Toru a weird look.

Everyone looked at her, and gasped in alarm. Toru's big brown eyes looked at them in alarm.

She was partially visible.

She was holding that bag of chocolate.

_It's affecting her quirk._

"Stop eating that!" Yurei shouted, and moved to smack it out of her hands. "Has anyone else eaten that?!"

"Is it poison? What's going on?" Toru asked.

"It messes with people's quirks. You're partially visible right now and I ate that chocolate before Ikari attacked me, which canceled out my phasing quirk. Who else ate that chocolate?" Yurei said quickly.

"I can't do my hardening quirk." Eijirou announced.

"I can't use my quirk, either!" Mina exclaimed.

"Someone call security and let them know." Yurei said, and Momo pulled out her phone.

A loud boom came from somewhere else on campus.

Screaming in the distance.

"What the hell?" Denki spoke. Everyone in the room went quiet, trying to listen and figure out what was going on.

"Everyone who ate the chocolate, that means your quirks aren't going to work normally, so you need to be extra cautious." Yurei warned loudly, and used her quirk to leave the building fast. There were students screaming as they ran past. Something was roaring, like a giant monster.

Yurei could sense tremendous pain coming from someone, and they were coming from the same direction as the roar.

Yurei knelt down, sinking, and zoomed through the students, going towards the commotion. When she got to the creature, she found a massive thing with its brain exposed and bulging muscles. They had massive teeth, with the head shaped like a bird's beak, and towered above everyone.

There was a lot of blood.

Their foot was on a student, crushing their leg, and Yurei realized that it was Deku.

The creature was about to bite into him.

Yurei rushed forward, touching the creature's beak, and tried to calm it down. It was in so much pain, and smelled like chemicals.

She struggled to use her emotions quirk on it, for some reason. It felt like she was trying to force her quirk on multiple people at once, and she was fighting against all of the pain that it was feeling. At this rate, she would lose control in minutes.

"Yurei," Deku spoke nearby.

She kept her hand on the creature's beak, touching the rough flesh.

"It's okay, little guy, just calm down," Yurei spoke in a soothing voice, which seemed to help. "Can you understand what I'm saying, little one? Can you understand me? If you can, move your right arm a little."

The creature just kept breathing hard, unmoving, and Deku let out a small wimper near her.

"This thing is in a lot of pain, and I don't think it knows what it's doing. It's just lashing out." Yurei spoke in a controlled, calming voice. "I can't knock it out, and it's difficult for me to keep him calm."

"My leg is stuck." Deku whispered.

"If I get him to step back, you'll need to move, can you do that?" Yurei asked, keeping the motherly voice. She was trying to instill a loving emotion into the creature, so that it feels like a loved child being comforted.

"I'll try." Deku whispered.

She gently reached up, caressing the creature's head, and testingly pulled his head down.

It responded, lowering his head.

Deku whimpered slightly.

"It's okay, big guy, everything is okay," Yurei said, and reached over to its shoulder, gently pushing back. "Step back a little, okay big guy? Everything is okay,"

Something screeched across campus, filling the air with a loud ringing sound, and startled the creature. She moved her foot to Deku, phasing both of them, just before the creature attempted to bite her in half.

She briefly froze, with the creature's jaws closed in her midsection.

The creature's eye looked up at her, its head tilted, and she could see its pain.

Yurei knelt down, grabbing Deku's shoulder better, and zoomed away from the creature. It followed, attempting to eat them, and kept going through them. She looked behind them, and realized that they were heading right for other students.

She turned, making sure the creature followed them, and went back the way they came.

Her heart raced in her chest.

Deku said something, but she didn't hear him.

"Above!" Deku yelled, and she looked up, just as a flying creature breathed fire at them.

They became engulfed in flames, and Yurei kept moving, getting them away. The original creature was still going after her. Cement rose, creating a box for the creature on the ground, and it cracked as it smashed into the wall.

She saw Aizawa and Kayama, and glided to them, dropping off Deku.

"I managed to calm down the ground one, but the flying one messed that up. If someone can take him out, I can control the ground one." Yurei told Aizawa.

"Take Midoria to safety, we'll handle this." Kayama told her.

"Half the students can't use their quirks because of a chocolate that was given out, which means we have to neutralize these two fast." Yurei told them.

"Chocolate?" Aizawa asked.

"The one in the blue packaging. It neutralizes quirks." Yurei said.

"I ate that chocolate earlier." Kayama said.

"I did, too." Aizawa said.

"Then you two need to run. I'll help Cementoss take care of this. Take Deku and get to safety." Yurei said.

"We have a security team that can help, but whatever you do, be careful. Don't take risks." Aizawa told her, and knelt down to pick up Deku. Both of the teachers started running, and Yurei turned back to the creatures. The flying one was attacking the giant cement box, and Cementoss tried to trap that one, too, but it was moving too fast.

She looked around, trying to find Cementoss, but didn't see him.

The grounded creature was on the verge of breaking out of the box.

Then, she heard a strange sound, and sensed something else in pain. A third one.

_Shit._

They emerged from the treeline, twice as big as the first one, with a set of jaws the size of a small car.

_Double shit._

Cement rose from the ground, boxing the creature, but it broke out not seconds later. There was a lot of pain coming from all of them.

The first one broke out.

She wished that she could see where Cementoss was, to coordinate a plan. She zoomed towards the biggest one, fear creeping up her chest, and tried to think of when Katsuki beat up Ikari; the confidence she felt at seeing his face bloodied and purple.

Of nearly killing him.

She went through the creature, going to the other side, and started calming it down. It was a lot more difficult than the other one; it resisted, thrashing a little, and kept responding to the other ones.

She made a little progress, but not enough.

Then, she realized, the first one was stampeding towards them.

_It's targeting me. It wants me to take the pain away again._

As the two creatures started to fight, Yurei got a little distance, and tried to think of what to do. The flying one was leaving, and was raining fire on the campus.

Then, suddenly, something flew up to the creature, and there was an eruption of fire.

_Katsuki?_ She wondered in horror, but the fire wasn't quite right.

The creature started to fall.

The nearby roaring caught her attention again, and she realized that now both of the creatures were charging her. She took a breath, and reactivated her quirk. They started grabbing and biting at her, unintentionally hurting each other, and started biting at each other. The bigger one chomped down on the smaller one's head, crushing it between it's teeth, and Yurei covered her mouth as she zoomed away.

A hero appeared, one she recognized as Endeavor, and he killed the last one almost instantly, incinerating it.

The sadness faded.

Yurei gripped her chest, struggling to breath, and tried to calm herself down. She was shaking.

"Kasai!" Someone yelled, and she looked up, seeing Cementoss approach her.

Endeavor looked her way, and she shuddered at the look he gave her. Those eyes were too calm for such a terrifying situation.

"Are you okay? Are you injured?" Cementoss asked.

"N-no, I'm fine," Yurei said, and her stomach grumbled loudly.

Her head hurt.

She focused on her breathing, and felt a little dizzy. She pushed her emotions quirk too far against those things.

"Are you the one that took out the other Nomu?" Endeavor asked as he approached her.

"I used my emotions quirk to calm them down and ease their pain. They kept coming after me because they wanted the pain to stop. The bigger one accidentally killed the smaller one trying to get to me." Yurei explained on autopilot.

"Bakugou, you shouldn't be here." Cementoss said, and she looked up, seeing Katsuki running towards them.

"Are they all dead?" Katsuki asked.

"We think so, but we're not sure. Security is doing a sweep of the campus and doing a headcount of the students." Cementoss answered.

Katsuki was terrified.

"Take Kasai and get to a safe location." Cementoss told him. Katsuki looked down at her, and his hands trembled slightly.

She wasn't sure if she could stand, still shaken from sensing so much pain, and having it gone so quickly.

"You hurt?" Katsuki asked, and knelt down in front of her.

"No, just a bit… startled." Yurei answered, and her stomach whined again.

"Come on." Katsuki said, and hooked his hand under her arm, pulling her up.

She tried to act more stable than she felt.

23.

February 28th, Wednesday, 3:20 PM

Katsuki kept an eye out for any enemies as they walked, keeping a firm grip on Yurei.

She was in a similar daze that she'd been in at the raid. She could function and do what was necessary, but once the pro heroes got there and everything was under control, she was pretty dazed.

Once out of danger, she would need a while to calm down.

He kept looking at the trees, in the shadows, waiting for something to jump out and attack them. He really wanted to punch something, and the only reason why he didn't get to hit one of the nomus was because Endeavor was faster.

"To our right." Yurei said, and he felt them phase out.

A small creature leaped out at them, with giant claws and dark body, and went right through them.

"Damn, it's like the other things. I can't knock it out." Yurei said.

"No need. I can do it." Katsuki said, and watched the small creature grow multiple arms with just as many giant claws.

"Shit, we're surrounded." Yurei said, looking around, and he turned to see multiple others appear around them.

There were eight of them around them.

Those claws looked sharp.

"I can't knock them out. You either fight them, or we run. I vote for running." Yurei said.

Her stomach whined again.

"Do you have enough energy to run?" Katsuki asked.

"If you mean-" Yurei started to speak, but then the creatures lunged.

Katsuki hit one of them with his quirk, and just as one of them was about to cut his arm, they went through him.

The creatures jumped through them, landing on the other side.

"I can phase your entire body except for your hands, so that you can fight without getting hurt." Yurei said.

If he knew that they wouldn't encounter any other creature, he would ignore her, but that would be way too useful.

"Grab my back so that I can use my arms." Katsuki told her.

As the creatures attacked, he used his quirk at half strength, sending them flying back and smoking.

An explosion went off at one of the buildings.

Screams in the distance.

"Let's get to where the other students are and keep them safe. A lot of people, including the teachers, are quirkless because of the chocolate." Yurei suggested.

"Yeah." Katsuki said, and grabbed her hand as he broke into a sprint.

She was slow, though.

"Let me just glide us there, it'll be faster." Yurei told him.

"You-" He started to say, but then there was another explosion, but closer. A giant creature tumbled in front of them, like a giant bear, and Yurei stumbled as she jumped back.

Something seemed off with her.

The creature turned to them with glowing eyes.

"Phase us." Katsuki told her, but she fell to her knees. He pulled her up and dove to the side, before lasers shot from the creature's eyes.

They landed in some bushes, and he put an arm around her waist, ready to bolt again, but the creature didn't seem to see where they went. It got up, went down the path, and ignored them.

Once it was a safe distance away, he looked closer at Yurei's face. Her eyes were half-lidded, her body heavy, and she kept blinking, as if trying to focus. He pulled at her face, and her reaction time was delayed.

"Get on my back, idiot." Katsuki told her.

She seemed confused, but he guided her, and she got the hint.

"Don't strangle me as I run." He told her, and heard her stomach grumble again. _She said her quirk wasn't working on them. Maybe it did something to her._

He gripped her legs and got up, looking up and down the pathway again, and started running.

_At least she's light._

Screaming erupted nearby, and he saw two students run past him out of the trees, and something large was barreling behind them.

"Hang on." Katsuki told her, and as the creature came out of the trees, he threw a powerful punch and series of explosions at it, causing it to scream and fall back. He was limited in what he could do with Yurei on his back.

While the monster was dazed and confused, he went back to running down the path. Two people ran past him, wearing UA security uniforms, and he hoped that they would protect the students that ran past earlier.

Once he got to the entrance of the school, he came across people being ushered outside the gates, along with some of the teachers.

Aizawa gestured for him to get closer.

"What happened to Kasai!?" Aizawa asked.

"I'm not sure. I think she pushed her quirk too much." Katsuki answered.

"I just feel weird. I'm sorry." Yurei said.

"There's a park two blocks from here. You two go there, and if anything attacks, protect the other students. You have my permission to use your quirk. A lot of people are scared and can't use their quirks right now." Aizawa told him.

_He's giving me permission to use my quirk in a fight. Good._

"There are still students out there." Katsuki said.

"And we'll get them, but they might try to attack the other students, and we need all capable students to help protect the weaker ones. We've called in other hero agencies and they should get here soon, but you two will have to manage until then. Go." Aizawa ordered.

Katsuki looked behind him, at the destruction happening across campus, and then broke into a run again, following the other students.

"I'm sorry. My head feels fuzzy. Trying to use my emotions quirk on them was really hard." Yurei said in his ear.

"When we get there, try to find food." Katsuki told her as he wound around the students, and kept an eye out for any monsters or enemies.

24.

February 28th, Wednesday, 3:50 PM

Yurei managed to buy some food at a convenience store near a park.

She immediately went outside and started to shovel it into her mouth.

She hated eating so quickly, but she was starving, and she needed to be ready if there was another attack. She couldn't rely on Katsuki again, and she needed to be ready to help him if the students in the park were attacked.

She could sense another powerful surge of sadness nearby, and looked around.

In the sky, there was a creature flying, and circling them.

Yurei tossed the extra bag of chips onto a bench, and ran to Katsuki, who had noticed it, too. "Get us up there and I can calm it down so that it doesn't attack anyone."

"Are you feeling better?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go. If you can get us up there, I can knock it out." Yurei said.

He knelt down, and she got on his back again.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

Katsuki's hands lit up, and as they launched, she held back a scream. She tried to keep a solid hold without choking him.

He made flying easier a lot more graceful than it was.

The flying creature tried to slash him, but she phased him just in time, and Katsuki launched directly at him. They phased through the creature, and she let go of Katsuki, letting him continue through him while she got on the creature's back.

The creature was in pain, just like the other ones.

She had her arm solid, to try and stroke the creature's skin, but then a spike jutted out too fast. Pain erupted into her shoulder, and the creature screamed and lurched beneath her. She lost her hold, and started to fall.

The creature went after her, snapping at her, and Katsuki started attacking it full force from behind. The creature ignored him, continuing to try and snap and claw at Yurei.

She looked down, watching the students run and scatter, and hoped they got out of the way in time. She fell into the ground, and she was sure that the creature did, too. When she reemerged, the creature was snapping and digging into the ground, and Katsuki was still attacking it full force.

The creature would occasionally throw a swing or snap in his direction, but was preoccupied with digging, trying to get to Yurei.

_They'll do anything to stop the pain._ It kept ignoring Katsuki, despite receiving significant injury. Burn marks were appearing across the creature's body and wings.

Katsuki sent one last hit at the creature, and it fell, dead.

It slowly ceased to give off emotions.

"You okay?" Yurei asked.

Katsuki turned, and she saw the slash mark across his chest, and the scratches along his arms. Then, she felt the pain in her shoulder again, and winced.

"Better than you." Katsuki said.

"Fuck off." Yurei replied, and looked closer at her wound. The spike went through her, but it was pretty thin, less than an inch, she guessed.

"If we see another creature, we should do the same thing again. Whatever you did to attract it worked great." Katsuki said.

"Sounds good." Yurei said, and looked around. The students were gathered in a large circle around them, staring at the dead creature and Katsuki and Yurei.

They were frightened.

"Heads up." Katsuki said, and she looked up, seeing another one.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** As always, thank you all for the faves, reviews, and follows! :)

* * *

**Chapter 9**

_Can't Shake You_

February 28th, Wednesday, 8:00 PM

… she ended up a little late to her internship that night.

She ended up seeing a lot of the Orion staff at her school. It worked out.

After getting bandaged up and fast food, she ended up in the office of her new boss, continuing to eat.

"You've had an exciting year so far." Noltz spoke at his desk, and turned the TV screen on. They were playing footage of what happened. At the moment, they were playing a clip of one of the nomus trying to get her falling body, and Katsuki attempting to beat the shit out of it with his explosion quirk.

The newswoman pulled up pictures of Yurei and Katsuki, and while Yurei was smiling at the camera, they used Katsuki's picture from the competition, where he was angry and had a first place medal hanging from his mouth.

"Yeah." Yurei agreed.

"I can't think of another college freshman that has had such good publicity. You have a great quirk and you're excellent in tense situations. You've also, somehow, been able to team up with one of the most explosive personalities I've ever seen. It's impressive." Noltz spoke.

"Thanks." Yurei said.

"Seriously. I'm friends with the Jeanist, the person who worked with Bakugou for his last internship, and it didn't go well. A lot of pairs of jeans were destroyed and Bakugou scared a lot of children. I also saw the competition where he beat the gravity girl up. He's not easy to deal with. Very strong, but very volatile." Noltz said.

"I've dealt with worse people." Yurei said with a shrug, and winced at her shoulder injury.

"From what Momentum told me, you're thinking of working part-time at H.T.S. and part time somewhere else. Somewhere that's not as heavy and serious. Orion primarily functions through contracts, so we take in a lot of heroes, and when clients need protection or security, we'll figure out who's the best hero to send out there for the job. There's a lot of variety to the clients we have, so you would have a lot of diversity in the jobs you take. Some of them can be quite fun, like workshops for children who want to become heroes.

"Sometimes we have heroes work as partners. Some people like to rotate who they're partnered with, while others, like to keep the same partner for their jobs." Noltz spoke, and she had a feeling about where he was going with this.

"How do you feel about working with Bakugou?" Noltz asked.

"Katsuki seems intent on working with H.T.S. full time." Yurei said.

"Because of today's events, he will probably get a lot more internship offers, and he might not want to do every school term at H.T.S. One of the things I was considering doing is making an offer to both of you; both of you do an internship here, and you'll get an additional bonus for working as a team." Noltz explained.

"... why?" Yurei asked.

"Bakugou is strong, but he's not good around people. He's good at causing damage, and based on what I've heard, he doesn't work well with others. He's downright violent and volatile. I would be interested in having him here if he's working with someone that can keep him in line." Holtz said.

"... so you want us as a pair so you can have Katsuki's strength and I'd be his keeper." Yurei summarized.

"I've made it clear that I value you as a hero. You wouldn't just be his keeper." Holtz said, and nodded to the screen again. She looked over, watching as they did a zoom in to her trying to get on the flying nomu's back. She was phasing through it, getting onto its back, and pausing.

The spike went through her, the creature moved, and she started to fall. They did slow motion of the creature snapping its jaws through her. The captions read _"you might recognize that as Kasai Yurei, the student that saved the lives of over thirty people at the failed raid last month. She seems to be luring the monster away as her teammate attacks it. Even if I had her quirk, I'd be terrified to do that. One mistake and you're dead."_

"This is more of an opportunity for Bakugou, but also an opportunity for you to try out working with him. If you dislike working with him, you don't have to take the offer. You can do the internship as planned." Holtz said.

She had honestly hoped to do this internship alone, but she wasn't opposed to working with Katsuki more often.

"I doubt he'll accept the offer, but I don't mind if you propose it. I don't mind working with him. He's blunt but he's well meaning… mostly." Yurei said.

1.

March 1st, Thursday, 5:00 PM

Yurei was still munching on food as she arrived at Orion HQ the next day. She flashed her card at the security guard, and he nodded with a smile, letting her through.

As she went into the main lobby area, she saw a head of pink hair that made her freeze in place.

Her glossy pink lips quirked into an annoying smirk.

Yurei had been so busy lately that she forgot about her.

_Maybe I should have acted more excited at the idea of Katsuki working with me. Maybe he'd scare her off for me._ Yurei wondered, and went back to eating her rice as she walked towards the locker room to change. Once inside, she changed into a nice pair of gray and neon orange pants with the Orion symbol along the sides, and then a simple black t-shirt. Then, she put her stuff away, and went back to munching as she made her way to the gym.

When she got inside, she was just as awestruck as she'd been the first time she saw it.

It was huge. It was basically a warehouse filled with padding, some circles hanging from the ceiling, and red. Everything was red.

"Sorry, Kasai, but food isn't allowed in here." Someone said, and she looked over, seeing a guy dressed in matching clothes as her. He was tall and slender, with a charismatic grin and short dark hair.

"Sorry. I've been eating a lot since I overused my quirk the other day. If I don't eat enough, I can slip into a coma." Yurei explained, and his eyebrows rose in alarm. "I'll eat it quickly in the locker room, though. I'll be right back."

She ducked back into the locker room, quickly finished off the rice, and then threw the container out. When she got back into the room, Hana was also entering. Yurei didn't realize that she was wearing sweats before.

"Why are you here?" Yurei asked.

"She's also here for the internship. A few students from your school were recruited by Orion." The guy said with a smile. "You two will be doing a teamwork exercise today. It'll help us get an idea for how you work with other people, and who to team you up with next week for your next assignment."

"Who are the other students?" Yurei asked.

"Yoroshiku, Iida, Mineta…." He listed off, and Yurei's eye twitched. She should have listened to Katsuki. _At least this is only for four weeks. _

"This is going to be fun! I can't believe I'm going to get to work with Yurei!" Hana said in a bubbly voice.

"What kind of exercise are we doing?" Yurei asked.

"All you have to do is get across the room and get to those golden rings at the end." He said.

Yurei turned to the main floor of the room, and wondered what was so difficult about that. The rings were pretty high up, near the corner of the ceiling.

"How are we supposed to get all the way up there?" Hana asked.

Multiple fake ghosts appeared around Yurei, messing with her, and she glared at Hana.

"Figure it out. Once you both get up there, we can move on to the next exercise. I'll be taking notes on how well you work together."

Yurei moved forward, and hopped off of the padded ground, expecting to land on similarly padded ground a few inches below.

It was not padded.

She sunk a few inches, and then she immediately phased, which caused the floor to ripple around her. Hana then hopped on, and screamed at the top of her lungs as her body sunk, and the rest of the floor went up.

The entire floor was like a giant air mattress. Yurei went up with the floor, rising several yards, and smirked down at Hana, who had fallen on her ass. Her face was bright red, a darker shade than her hair, and when she realized that Yurei was laughing at her, pouted.

"Why didn't you go down when you jumped on it!?" Hana asked.

"Because I'm not fat." Yurei replied.

"YOU ARE SUCH A BITCH!" Hana screamed at her.

"Oh yeah, grader guy?" Yurei spoke, turning to him. "She used to stalk me all through high school, and gave out porn at my school, so how I act with her will be very different than how I act with other people."

"SHE'S LYING! HER MOM IS A PORNSTAR!" Hana screamed, and continued ranting, yelling a lot of not appropriate things at her.

Getting tired of her yelling, Yurei solidified, sending her falling down and Hana flying up, screaming at the top of her lungs.

2.

March 2nd, Friday, 12:20 AM

She got to her parent's house late that night, since she couldn't go back to the dorms yet. The internship went later than expected.

She'd been tasked with teaming up with Tenya and Hana.

Hana screamed the entire time. Tenya cried the entire time.

Her mom was in a panic when she got there, crying and hugging her. Her dad awkwardly stood to the side and told her that she did a good job. Afterwards, Yurei went to her room, and waited for her parents to go to bed, before going downstairs to the living room.

She sat on the couch, phone in her hand, and leaning into the cushions. Her mind kept going to the exercises with Hana and Tenya, replaying the events over and over again in her head, second guessing herself.

_Now they're going to think that I work well with Katsuki because I'm an asshole, too. I made Hana go into a fit and Tenya cried the entire time._

She had offered to use her quirk on Tenya to ease his guilt, and make him more functional, but he refused, saying that he "needs to feel the guilt as punishment for what he did." The person examining them took a lot of notes.

She went through her contacts, wondering who she could text this late, and thought about Mina. Then, she came across Katsuki's number.

She started texting him before she'd consciously made the decision, asking if he was awake.

_K. Bakugou: The fuck do you want?_

_Me: Can we talk?_

Yurei expected him to decline, but then her phone lit up, indicating that he was calling her. She answered, and pressed the cold device against her ear. "The fuck do you want?" Katsuki barked at her, and she smiled.

A few tears fell down her cheek.

"How are you doing?" Yurei asked.

He sighed, and she heard shifting in the background. He muttered, "can't sleep."

"Nightmares?" Yurei asked.

"I guess." He grumbled.

She smiled.

"You were right about Orion. I shouldn't have agreed to it." Yurei said, and he snorted.

"That bad?" Katsuki asked.

"It couldn't have gone worse. I may have fucked up any chance of a good working relationship with them. Good thing I signed that contract for the next few weeks." Yurei said, and he snorted again.

_At least he's getting a good laugh._ Yurei thought with a smile, finding herself comforted by the sound of his voice.

"What did you do that was so bad?" Katsuki asked.

"They wanted me to do exercises with people, to see how well I work with other people for future partners. They paired me up with Hana and Tenya." Yurei said, and she got a few chuckles from him that time. "I called Hana fat, and she screamed about my mom being in porn. Tenya cried the entire time."

He snorted again, trying to stifle his laughter; he was probably trying to not wake his parents. Since the attack on campus, students weren't allowed to stay at the dorms until school came back into session, so they were stuck at their parents' for now.

"They're going to ask you to join, though. They're going to give us a bonus if we work at Orion together." Yurei said.

He was still laughing over what she said before.

"Yeah, you're really convincing me to work there." He chuckled.

"I've never had a work thing go that bad before. Well, I guess my dad getting shot and then having my supervisor ask me to leave…. But even that wasn't as bad." Yurei said.

"At least it sounds like it went better than last weekend at H.T.S. for me." Katsuki said.

"At least that didn't fuck with your career, though. Orion is well connected. Their opinion of me matters, and now they think that I can't work well with other people. Their entire work system is based on heroes partnering up for missions." Yurei said.

"You still have H.T.S. to fall back on." Katsuki pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, and they're my current plan. I just want to see what other companies are like. I've only ever looked at H.T.S. for my future." Yurei explained.

"So why are you looking at other places now? You hate me that much?" Katsuki asked.

"As much as you annoy the living hell out of me sometimes," Yurei said, and paused when he laughed, and had to stifle his laughter again. "It was watching my dad almost die, and seeing Tomo like that. A lot of people I know died. Everything just went to shit so fast, and then today… those things… I've never felt anything so sad before. The reason why those things went after me is because I dulled their pain for a minute, and they wanted me to make it stop. They just didn't want to be in pain anymore."

She wiped the excess tears from her cheek, and blushed when her stomach made a whining sound again.

"I know the feeling." Katsuki said softly.

"I know." Yurei replied, and got up, going over to the kitchen. "So, how are you holding up at your parents? Do you like being around them?"

He chuckled. "No, I hate it here. My mom yells and my dad cowers. Sometimes my dad leaves when they have a fight."

"That must have been hard to grow up with." Yurei commented as she searched the kitchen, and shivered from the cold draft. She turned on the light, so that she could see better, and kept the phone against her ear.

"What's it like with your parents?" Katsuki asked.

"Overall, not too bad, but my mom gets a bit… overloaded, sometimes, with her emotions quirk. Since Ikari attacked me, I've been a bit too much for her. She tries to be understanding and kind, but there are some things that she just draws the line, and won't sympathize with. It's been… sad, I guess. We used to get along better. Then my dad has always been obsessed with work. He tries to relax when he gets home, but sometimes he can't. He didn't want me to be disillusioned to the world, so he told me a lot of things about his job when I was little." Yurei explained.

"Like sex trafficking and shit?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah. My mom was adamant about teaching me about sex when I was young, so that I could teach other kids and help keep my peers safe. My dad explained that this was also good, because sex and consent education decreases the demand for sex trafficking, among other things." Yurei explained.

"That's really messed up." Katsuki said.

"Yeah, but I grew up with parents who love and respect each other. People might not agree with their tactics, and I was teased for it sometimes, but I grew up in a loving household. I've also helped a lot of people because of how I was raised, including you, when that one girl drugged you." Yurei defended.

"Still. Telling a kid about rape and sex is pretty messed up." Katsuki said.

"It's how you go about it that matters. It's ignorance that gets people raped in the first place, a lot of the time." Yurei said. _Not that it helped with Ikari._

Katsuki didn't seem to have a good response for that.

"Sorry. It's been a long day. I'm working at Orion again tomorrow night, and then taking a bus to the hotel." Yurei said.

"You're spreading yourself too thin." Katsuki told her.

"We'll see." Yurei said.

"Did you do an internship at your old school last term?" Katsuki asked.

"No. I'm pretty sure the only reason why I got the H.T.S. one is because of you. They like flashy quirks."

"My quirk definitely isn't dull." Katsuki said, and she had no doubt that he was smirking confidently. _Cocky asshole._

"What about you? Have you done an internship before?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah, I worked with The Jeanist. Fucking nutjob. It was terrible. He kept lecturing me about presentation, combing my hair, and shoving me in jeans." Katsuki said.

"Holtz mentioned that. That's the reason he didn't really want you before. He thinks that if we work together, I can reign you in." Yurei said, and he scoffed.

"As if you could control me." Katsuki said.

"Why do you work so well with me, by the way? Everyone I've talked to says that you're a monster when you work with people. You usually stomp off and do your own thing." Yurei asked.

He paused. While she waited, she came across some leftover stirfry in the fridge, and pulled it out.

"Your quirk helps me beat up more people, and you're not dumb. Everyone else I've been paired with was an idiot with a weak quirk or didn't know how to fucking use it. You're also just as sadistic as I am." Katsuki said.

"Sadistic?" Yurei asked.

"You like to see people suffer. You're not scared of seeing me beat the shit out of someone that deserves it." Katsuki said, and she pondered his words as she took some of the leftovers from the container onto a plate.

Yurei had never been described as a sadist before. Most people use glorifying words for her, and put her on a pedestal. She was 'kind', empathetic, sweet, beautiful, powerful….

"You think I'm smart?" She asked with a smile.

"Fuck off." He said, and she chuckled, trying to keep her voice low. "Anyway, I hated working with The Jeanist, and it sounds like he shit talked me to other potential employers."

"It doesn't help that you're only publicly seen blowing people up, threatening to murder them, or smiling at me while I poke your nose."

"Hn." He grunted.

"After tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if Holtz only thinks that I work well with you because I'm an asshole, too. I guess we both have image crap to work on." Yurei said.

"It's not going to get better for you if you keep working with me." Katsuki warned.

"That's okay. I'd rather work with you than Hana, Tenya, or Mineta. I can't believe Orion offered them internships there." Yurei said, and shoved some food into her mouth.

"They have Mineta, too? Geez, you really did fuck up."

3.

March 2nd, Friday, 5:00 PM

Yurei yawned as she walked down one of the hallways of Orion HQ.

She talked with Katsuki until four in the morning, and then her mom was being passive aggressive, so she was loud as she cleaned at nine. Yurei didn't get much sleep.

She was instructed to go to room 202.

As she got to the open room, she peered inside, and was surprised to see that it was full of guys a little younger than her. The teacher was at the front of the room, looking to be in his mid thirties; he looked tired, too, with a scruffy beard and bloodshot eyes. His hair was short and stuck up in random directions.

"Kasai?" He asked, and she nodded. "My name is Riku. I'm not sure why, but you're going to be sitting in on this class. This is a class to teach youth about non-lethal ways to protect themselves."

"Isn't this supposed to be a guys only class?" One of them asked as they raised their hand.

"... normally, yes." Riku said.

"Oh, shit! She's that student from UA that fought with Bakugou!" One of them exclaimed, and they all started to gasp and gossip in recognition.

"This class usually has children of heroes, since they're sometimes targeted by villains." Riku added, and Yurei nodded. "Have a seat over there."

4.

March 3rd, Saturday, 1:00 AM

Yurei let out another tired sigh when she finally got to her hotel room that night. She used her card to get inside, and quickly went to bed.

5.

March 3rd, Saturday, 6:00 AM

Yurei awoke with a start, from banging on her door.

_No, fuck no._

She groaned as she got up, and poked her head out the door, finding that Katsuki was dressed in workout clothes.

"You're not skipping out on training just because you got another internship. We're going to the gym at H.T.S." Katsuki told her.

"But tired." Yurei muttered with a pout.

"Take a quick shower, and get dressed. We'll grab coffee and a quick breakfast on our way there." Katsuki told her.

"I hate you." Yurei whined, and he rolled his eyes.

6.

March 3rd, Saturday, 7:20 PM

As they made their way back to the hotel with bags of food that evening, Yurei yawned into her hand for the umpteenth time. On their way to their rooms, Katsuki randomly stopped in the hallway, and she stopped to look at him.

"What?" Yurei asked.

"There's a pool." He said.

"So?" Yurei asked.

"I might go for a swim tonight." Katsuki said.

"... alright." Yurei said, and yawned again.

"You should come. Extra training." Katsuki said.

"I can't swim, and after I eat food, I'm going to bed."

"Who the hell doesn't know how to swim?" Katsuki asked.

"... I watched Jaws when I was little, and when my dad tried to teach me, I freaked out. I haven't tried it since." She shrugged.

"That's stupid. You're stupid. You're learning how to swim." Katsuki told her, and her shoulders slumped as she let out a moan of displeasure. His eyebrows rose slightly, giving her an incredulous look.

_He just wants me dead, doesn't he?_

"Human traffickers come in on the coast all the time. You'll need to learn it." Katsuki argued as they walked back to their hotel rooms.

"I can phase through water like anything else. I don't need to learn." Yurei argued.

"Nope." Katsuki said, having already made the decision for her. He was determined to make sure that she regretted taking on that second internship.

7.

March 3rd, Saturday, 8:00 PM

The damp air was warm against her exposed flesh.

She felt awkward, ugly, and exhausted, as she stood in the pool room, pouting at the pool. Her thin hands gripped her bare arms, the blue, one piece bathing suit was old and unflattering to her body type, and knees were slightly buckled at an awkward angle. Her legs were also hairy, having had no reason to shave before this, and were bruised like the rest of her.

"Nnnnng…" Yurei moaned in displeasure, glaring at the blue water before her. Just because they were the only ones there, didn't mean that she didn't feel self conscious or wasn't terrified of swimming. She wasn't scared of fish, obviously, but… drowning was a possibility.

There was movement behind her, and her legs were sweeped out from under her, causing her to let out a shriek. Everything moved around her, and her heart leaped to her throat as they moved into the air.

She barely pinched her nose in time and shut her eyes.

As she submerged, the warm water encased her, and she thought back to all the bathtub adventures she'd had as a child.

_Air._

She kicked from the bottom, launching into the air, but then fell back in. It was too deep for her to touch the bottom and keep her head exposed, so she floundered and thrashed, keeping one hand on her nose, and her lungs started to burn.

Then, a pair of hands gripped her sides and pulled her up to the surface, allowing her to breathe. He was solid against her, his hands firm on her hips, keeping her from submerging again.

Her hands gripped Katsuki's shoulders as she took in air, grateful for the wonderful substance. His hair was slicked back, and through her gasps for air, she could have sworn that she saw him smirk. Those sadistic red eyes gleamed with amusement, taking in her every movement, every quiver and gasp with rapt attention.

"You're terrible at this." Katsuki told her, and she slapped water at his face.

"Fuck off! I told you that I can't swim!" Yurei shouted, and looked down, finding that his feet met the bottom.

She was short.

Being distracted by not wanting to drift off and drown, she gripped him tightly and stayed pressed against him, making another whining sound. They trained so often together that the proximity didn't bother her, but his tactics did.

"Can we go to the shallow end?" Yurei asked.

"You're not going to learn how to swim in the shallow end." He tried to argue.

"Well I refuse to learn it in the deep end." Yurei said. Just because she didn't know how to swim herself, didn't mean that she hadn't watched others do it. People started in the shallow end.

"You're such a fucking wimp. I learned how to swim by being thrown into the deep end at six years old." Katsuki argued.

"Well I'm not you, asshole."

"You're weaker than six year old me?"

"If you were six years old right now I would kick your stupid ass, you sadistic asshole, now take me to the fucking shallow end."

"That's quite the mouth on you." Katsuki commented as he walked, moving to a shallower part of the pool. Once she was able to stand on her own, she felt much better, and relaxed in his arms.

"Let's start with an easy one: floating." Katsuki suggested.

Yurei made another whining sound, her shoulders falling again. She was tired and wanted to sleep.

"Stop making that face. All you have to do is float on your back." Katsuki said.

She didn't want to.

"Pretend like you're at your hotel room, on your bed, lying on your back." Katsuki suggested.

"Why do I have to pretend that when it's within my power to go there?" Yurei asked.

"Because shut up and do it." Katsuki snapped.

Yurei made another whining sound, and then screamed again when he reached down, to the back of her legs, and picked her up again.

She didn't like being arbitrarily picked up… but, if she wasn't so tired, she probably would enjoy the manhandling just a tiny bit. His near constant training made his movements smooth and controlled; he knew how to move a person without causing them pain in the process, and being pressed against his well sculpted torso wasn't the worst thing in the world.

At that moment, though, she couldn't enjoy how nice he felt, because she just _wanted to sleep_.

"Flatten your body." Katsuki instructed.

"But I'll sink." Yurei told him.

"I'll keep my hands under you to make sure you don't sink. After you float, we'll go to bed." Katsuki said.

"I don't believe you." Yurei said.

"Just do it." He said with a roll of his eyes.

She made another whining sound as she reclined back, inching back, and felt incredibly awkward as Katsuki watched her. He had the same intense look he used when they were lifting weights or using other equipment; ready to grab a falling weight, or flying part because of her quirk, in case she fucked up. As horrendously irritating and annoying as he was, he always made sure she was safe.

Yurei focused on the ceiling, making annoyed sounds along the way, and didn't want to fully extend. She didn't want to sink.

"Keep going." Katsuki said.

"I'm going to sink." Yurei said.

"Not if you stay solid. I've got you." Katsuki said, but her body jerked slightly, and she sat up again, going back to his chest.

She glared at him.

He rolled his eyes.

His arms were holding her up, and Yurei tried not to think about how awkward this situation was.

"Fine. Leave." Katsuki said, and then dropped her. She barely pinched her nose in time. Yurei hastily made her way out of the pool, and was about to leave, when she noticed that he was walking over to another portion of the room that she'd missed.

… a hot tub.

… she liked hot tubs….

"I thought you were leaving?" Katsuki asked with a shit eating smirk. His hands went to his hips, showing off his muscular build, and she debated her options.

Go and sleep.

2\. Sit in a hot tub with a really annoying attractive guy.

He had abs for days and a remarkably chiseled chest. The lighting was particularly flattering to him, and she rarely saw him shirtless. She fought herself to not oggle him in her tired state.

_Bathing suits look so much better on him than on me._ She thought in annoyance.

"If I go in the hot tub, I might fall asleep." Yurei said.

"Then go to bed." Katsuki said simply.

She made another whining sound, and grabbed her towel.

Before she could start to dry herself off, Katsuki scoffed by the hot water, and she glanced over, sensing some anxiety from him. He was staring at her, and when she looked up, catching him, he tried to look away, acting like he hadn't been staring.

… _does he just not want to be alone?_ She wondered.

"Are you okay?" Yurei asked him.

"Yeah. You're the one that's a skinny board that looks like she'll fall over from a slight breeze." Katsuki snapped.

Her shoulders fell slightly, and she looked over at her phone, realizing that she'd missed a call from Mina.

… Katsuki still hadn't gotten into the hot water. _He wants me to join him._

"Are we training in the morning?" Yurei asked.

"I don't train on Sundays." Katsuki replied.

_So I'll be able to sleep in._

She grunted, grabbing her phone, and walked over to the hot tub. He seemed relieved by her decision to stay, but didn't noticeably react. Without her quirk, she likely wouldn't have caught it.

She slid into the hot water, her skin prickling from the sensation, and then called Mina back. The hot water melted her sore muscles and she struggled to not fall asleep, her eyelids threatening to shut.

"Yureeiiii! It's been foreeeeveeeer!" Mina screamed.

"I know. How are you holding up?" Yurei asked, opening her eyes and shaking her head awake. Katsuki rolled his eyes and stretched out across from her, extending his legs and stretching his arms on the walking area behind him. As he stretched, he seemed to relax, and yawned into his hand.

"Bored! I can't wait to go back to the dorms tomorrow! I wish Monday classes had been canceled too, but you know, whatever. What are you doing?" Mina spoke excitedly.

"I'm at a pool with Katsuki. He failed to teach me how to swim and now we're in the hot tub." Yurei said.

"I tried to teach you and you wouldn't listen, asshole! I had to carry you the entire fucking time, loser!" Katsuki snapped at her.

"You two are at a pool together!? Have you done pool sex yet!?" Mina screamed, and Yurei caught a blush on Katsuki's cheeks.

"We're not a couple, Mina." Yurei reminded her.

"Are you two alone at the pool right now?" Mina asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you're a couple and by rules of society, you need to do it."

"So if you were here with Mineta,"

"AAAH NO! It only applies to attractive people!" Mina said.

"So if Katsuki and Eijirou were here and alone,"

"Oh my god I want that to happen." Mina interrupted, and she could practically hear the drool. "Eijirou could probably give good blow jobs. He has a big mouth and a talented tongue."

Yurei glanced at Katsuki, finding his face completely red and eyes wide in alarm. He looked mortified.

"She's kidding, Katsuki. Relax." Yurei told him. He refused to meet her stare, looking away and quietly steaming. She'd never seen him blush so hard before. He looked like a blond tomato.

"I'll bet Katsuki would be a bottom. Eijirou is so gentle, but he can be a little rough at the right times." Mina said.

_I have a good comeback now, if he tries to make fun of me for not wanting to work out in the middle of the day._

"You and Kyoka would also be a good pairing. Oh my gosh, you and Momo would be so hot."

Katsuki gave her the deadliest of death glares, clearly unamused. _Why would me being intimate with someone else bother you, hmm?_

"Let's talk about something else." Yurei suggested.

"No, this is fun. What if it was you and Denki, but Denki with Mezo's personality?" Mina suggested.

Katsuki looked ready to break her phone.

"I'll call you tomorrow, Mina. Night."

"Aaaw."

Yurei hung up.

Katsuki was still sending her a deathglare.

"... sorry. That wasn't appropriate for her to say... I think she's just extra wound up from not being with Eijirou for a few days." Yurei explained, but his glare was unrelenting.

"I apologized, Katsuki. What more do you want?" Yurei asked.

He turned away, still glaring, and seemed upset. She yawned into her hand, mouth stretching wide and almost cracking her lips.

"We should get some sleep." Katsuki said, and got out. He stalked away, his shoulders bunched up and muttering under his breath. If they hadn't just been in the water, his hands would probably be sparking.

_Damn it, Mina._

7.

March 4th, Sunday, 9:20 PM

There was a party at their dorm the following night.

Katsuki was tense as he sat in his spot, quietly sipping his beer and watching the people around him. He realized that, if he wanted to work at H.T.S., he needed to adapt. He needed to calm down around people doing sexual things. They were stupid and gross, but he needed to desensitize himself.

So when people made out, he didn't say anything. Guys making a gross comment about pounding pussies? Ignore it. A couple running off somewhere to fuck? Ignored.

He wanted to throttle everyone. His head was bouncing with words and phrases that made him want to vomit, but it's something that he had to do. He needed to get used to this. Adapt.

One of his hands was discretely against the side of his leg, out of view, in a clenched fist.

As he sat there, minding his own business, someone straddled his waist. They sat on his lap, and started to started to move their hips over his own. He looked up into Momo's face, and saw anger in her eyes.

_The fuck did I do to her?_ He wondered.

She arched into him, rolling her hips. Her cleavage was in full view, the hem of her shirt falling, and the sparkles on her skin glittered in the faint light. The speakers were blasting a shitty pop song about blowing someone. There was a hickey on her right breast, and he noticed that she angled herself in a way that brought that spot closer, as if wanting him to bite her there, too.

Momo kept moving, writhing out of tune with the music, flipping her long hair on occasion and giving him a sultry look.

_I guess this isn't terrible._ Katsuki thought, and took another sip of his drink as she danced on him. So long as she didn't try to touch his junk too much, he didn't care. He felt more in control than last time, ready to shove her off if she did something he disliked. There was no pressure from a boss or person of authority nearby to further stress him out or make him feel he had to do one thing or another.

Once the song was over, she smirked down at him, and kissed him on the lips. Then, she got up, and walked off. Her hips swayed, going over to the dining room, and Katsuki noticed another pair of angry eyes on him. Shouto was glaring at him, looking ready to murder him, and Katsuki found himself wishing for him to attack. Anything to kill his boredom of watching drunk idiots being sexual to each other.

_Please attack me. I'm bored._ Katsuki silently pleaded, but Shouto held restraint. His brown and blue eyes stayed focused on him, his muscles tense and hands clenched into fists. As his angry gaze turned away, Katsuki found himself disappointed, tempted to go over and initiate the fight.

"Spin the bottle!" Someone announced, and a group around him started to form, interrupting his fantasy of killing Shouto. They gathered fast, rushing to get the game started, for whatever reason. Katsuki rolled his eyes, staying in his corner, and reached for his water.

"First up, is…" Denki spoke in an announcer's voice, and spun a bottle on the table. "Hana! And she will go with…."

The bottle spun again, and this time, the top pointed close to Katsuki. He froze midsip, feeling everyone's gaze on him at once.

"Damn it! Why are you even here? You don't like girls!" Denki yelled at him in frustration.

"Fuck off." Katsuki glared, and chugged the laster of his water.

"Come on." Hana said as she got closer, and touched his hand.

"Why?" Katsuki asked.

"It's part of the game. You go in the closet with her for 7 minutes." Denki said.

"To do what?" Katsuki asked.

"God, you're hopeless!" Denki yelled.

"I'll show you." Hana assured with a wink. She took his hand and helped him stand, and guided him over to a closet.

8.

March 4th, Sunday, 9:30 PM

Yurei wandered over to the lounge area, slowly sipping her drink, and noticed that there was a game going on. Denki was sitting on the floor at the short table, between several others. Most of the group was on the couch or leaning against someone.

"What game are you playing?" Yurei asked as she came over.

"We're playing truth or dare until Katsuki and Hana get out of the closet." Denki answered sourly, and Yurei tensed.

"Katsuki played 7 minutes in heaven?" Yurei asked.

"He happened to be here, and of course, it landed on him." Denki said.

_Will he be ok? Hopefully he hasn't drank too much._

"You want to join us? They're almost done, so we'll get to play another round." Denki asked, seeming to cheer up.

She looked around at the group, taking in the situation before giving an answer. Shouto and Momo seemed angry. Mezo was checking his phone. Hanta was talking to a girl she didn't recognize, and there were a few average looking guys she didn't know.

The girl talking to Hanta was pretty cute. There was another awkward girl next to her that was also cute.

"Sure, why not?" Yurei said, and sat on the floor next to him. Denki was ridiculously excited by her response, grinning like an idiot and nearly falling over in excitement. But then, he looked up at something, and she glanced over as well, surprised to see Katsuki standing there with Hana on his arm.

He looked bored, and seemed mostly calm. Hana's lip gloss shined all over his face, neck, and parts of his shirt.

There was a dark spot on Hana's neck, which looked like a hicky.

Yurei tensed.

_I thought you hated anything sex related? Have you been lying to me this entire time? Just like Ikari? Have I been misreading you?_

A pang of hurt and betrayal stabbed into her chest, but she tried not to let it show.

"Let's go another round!" Denki exclaimed, and got up to spin the bottle. After a few spins, it landed on Yurei, and instantly, the guys became more interested in the game.

He spun again, and after the initial fast momentum, slowed down to land on Shouto. Instantly, Momo's cheeks went red, her eyes wide in surprise. She crossed her arms over her chest and sent a glare at Yurei.

_Damn it._ Yurei thought bitterly, and moved to stand, not wanting to get in the middle of their drama.

"What does that mean?" Katsuki asked.

"Yurei and Shouto go into the closet together." Denki said as he tried not to cry.

"Why?" Katsuki asked, and she started to feel him panic.

"It's just a closet. Relax." Yurei said, and nodded with Shouto to the closet.

Katsuki's hands balled up into fists. … she wasn't sure what to make of that.

Shouto and Yurei went into the closet together, and as the door slowly closed, there was an awkward pause. They were left in darkness, hearing the muffled sounds of laughter and music from outside, and didn't touch.

"So you and Momo?" Yurei asked.

He was still angry, and sensing that made her uneasy.

"... your emotions quirk?" Shouto asked.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

"... we had a fight. Now she's dancing on all the guys she can. She was practically fucking Bakugou before." Shouto said, and she felt another surge of pain again.

"Do you know what the hell Katsuki's problem is? He usually despises everything sexual but apparently he's getting lap dances from Momo and fucking Hana in a closet." Yurei snapped.

"Do you like him?" Shouto asked.

"I have to work with him, and I don't want to get fucked over again. I don't want to be lied to again." Yurei said.

Her heart pounded against her chest, and heat rushed to her cheeks. She felt like she was going to cry, and she hated that feeling.

"I just don't want to be lied to, and have to watch my back constantly." Yurei said.

"I wouldn't exactly classify Katsuki as the most forthcoming person. He's a dick." Shouto said, and she laughed.

Maybe she'd been putting too much faith in Katsuki… too much trust. Beating up Ikari had made her feel close to him, more than it should have, and all of the training had started building up some sexual tension.

Before she could dwell more on Katsuki, Shouto leaned in, kissing her. Gently at first, but then he pushed her against the wall. His hands were soft, gentle, and exploratory, not pushing her in any way. He was warm against her, his touch sending sparks along her skin. He licked along her lower lip, his hands gingerly roaming along her sides, staying above her shirt.

She reached up to his hair, caressing the soft strands, and opened her mouth to let him in. He felt so good against her, so warm, soft, gentle, and she leaned in to his touch.

9.

March 4th, Sunday, 9:40 PM

As soon as Shouto came out, Katsuki punched him in the face.

He fell to the ground, and Yurei rushed to stand in front of him, staring Katsuki down with a cool expression. It wasn't her hero look, when she became serious and professional on the field, but an authoritative one nonetheless.

Not a hint of fear in those angry eyes. Even though she was several inches shorter than him, and physically significantly weaker, she didn't seem to know that.

"Why did you hit him?" Yurei asked him with swollen lips, and his attention was momentarily caught by them. "If it's because of me, then knock it off. I can do whatever I want with other people, and you don't get a say." Yurei told him, and he felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

"So what, you're fucking Half Head now?" Katsuki asked.

"No, but if I do fuck anyone, you don't have a say. You're my work partner, not my boyfriend." Yurei said.

Tingles spread across his chest and neck, like a million needles stabbing him at once. Fear and anger rose in him like bile, and he struggled to hold back his fists, to not blow her the fuck up with his sparking hands.

He kept looking at her swollen lips.

Then, someone pushed Yurei out of the way, shoving her to the ground, and tried to land a punch on him. Katsuki was grateful to whatever god was out there for the opportunity to vent some of his rage into Shouto's face.

He grabbed his shirt and punched him in the face, hard. Blood and saliva spilled from his mouth, and Katsuki kept him up, so that he could hit him again.

10.

March 5th, Monday, 5:55 AM

The next morning, at their usual training time, Katsuki was surprised to find Yurei in the lounge. She was drinking coffee and looked showered, with her blue and yellow hair braided back and face devoid of makeup. Her hazel eyes were on her phone in her hand, looking tense and more awake than usual.

When she looked up at him, her gaze hardened into a glare.

"What?" Katsuki asked, and felt pain in his jaw. Shouto had gotten a lucky hit in last night.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? What is going on in that thick skull of yours?" Yurei snapped.

"What are you yapping about?" Katsuki asked.

"Your fight with Shouto last night. You beat the shit out of him for kissing me." Yurei said.

"I beat him because I felt like it. Nothing to do with you." Katsuki shrugged.

"You just randomly felt like beating up Shouto right after we made out?" Yurei asked, and he tensed, remembering how her lips looked. He despised that Shouto touched her, and he wanted to find and beat the shit out of him again for it.

"Why did you make out with Hana? I thought you hated kissing?" Yurei asked.

"I was trying to get used to it, for working at H.T.S." Katsuki said, and she tilted her head to the side, looking confused. "Heimi took me to a stripper place. Since I freaked out over a stupid dance, I wanted to get used to people doing that to me."

She let out an exasperated sigh, her tense shoulders falling, and moved to sit on one of the couches. She patted the spot next to her.

"Sit down." Yurei said.

"We need to train." Katsuki said.

"I'm not training with you unless I know what's going on. I can't work with you if I'm terrified of you." Yurei said, and a pang of sadness filled him. She'd never shown any usual signs of fear from his presence; anger and annoyance, sure, but never fear. That was one of the reasons he tolerated her.

He walked over to her spot, sitting down near her, and she shifted, putting her back against the armrest and coffee in her hands. Her feet nuzzled into the side of his thigh, wedging into the space between his leg and couch.

"Men are stupid. Heimi took you to the stripper bar to incentivize you into staying. If you tell him you're uncomfortable with it, he won't make you do it." Yurei said.

"That's not what he said. He said it's a required part of the job." Katsuki said.

"Being touched when you don't want to be touched is not required for working at H.T.S. You might have to get used to seeing it, but you don't have to let strangers grope you or dance on you, or anything like that. They emphasized that with me." Yurei said.

"But you're a girl." Katsuki pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. Heimi thinks you're a stereotypical guy so he's trying to encourage you to stay with sex appeal. He's probably hoping that you'll tell your friends about it, too. That's why they're so excited to have you work there: they think you'll tell all your friends at the fancy hero school that you got a lap dance, and make all the guys here want to work there, too." Yurei explained, and sipped her drink.

Katsuki thought back on last night, and what he did and didn't like about the party. He hated that Hana kept touching his crotch, but she was soft and smelled good. Momo didn't really touch him there, or grind on him, which was nice, she just wiggled a lot.

"It's okay to not be okay with sex stuff, just don't freak out when others do it consensually. If it's not consensual, then you can freak out out." Yurei added.

"How can you like it when guys do that to you?" Katsuki asked her, and shuddered at the thought of some guy dancing on him the way he'd seen other guys do to girls.

"Sometimes being touched feels nice. Not all of the time, but sometimes." Yurei said, and flashed him a smile.

He looked at the table, contemplating her words.

… he wouldn't mind if Yurei touched him, but that was it. Other people were gross.

"So can you not punch people that I voluntarily kiss?" Yurei asked, and he pondered the idea for a moment.

"No." He replied, and stood up. "You're doing extra burpees for wasting time."

11.

March 5th, Monday, 3:00 PM

Later that day, Yurei found Mirio at the park on campus, casually studying in the sun. He was sitting at a bench, alone, and smiling as he dutifully read the assigned reading and took notes.

"Cousiiiiin." Yurei whined as she came over, and sat across from him.

"Cousiiiin." Mirio mocked with a smile.

"I don't know what to do." Yurei said, and started to munch on her gummy bears.

"You think you've got problems? I accidentally phased my pants off on my way to class today. Right in front of a girl I like." Mirio said, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

"I kissed a guy last night, and Katsuki freaked. He got in a fight with him." Yurei said.

"That's not the first time, is it?" Mirio asked.

"Tenya deserved it, so I don't really count that one. This time, there was no painful boners at my fancy new dress, and Shouto was a really nice kisser. His hands were soft and he felt really nice." Yurei said, and he shuddered.

"That was much more information than I needed." Mirio said.

"I talked with Katsuki this morning, to clarify some things and stuff, and get him to not punch people who hit on me. He just said 'no' and made me do a bunch of burpees." Yurei explained.

"He seems to really like you." Mirio commented.

"His head is a mess right now, and working at H.T.S. is making it worse. I help him calm down when I can, and he seems to appreciate it... He seems to see me as a useful ally." Yurei spoke.

"Maybe dating will calm him down." Mirio suggested.

"With who?" Yurei asked.

"You."

"Me?"

He chuckled. "Yes, you. You like him."

"Do not."

"Do, too. You spend almost all of your time with him, nowadays." Mirio pointed out.

"Because of the internship and class projects. We have the same class schedule." Yurei pointed out.

"The training isn't mandatory; he's doing that because he likes you. Why else would a man his age waste time training someone else, especially a cute girl? Especially when they don't have a history of training with people out of the kindness of their heart?"

"He doesn't want to carry me through things at H.T.S. He thinks that if I train, it'll make me less likely to get knocked out." Yurei said.

"Come on, Yurei. You're the one with an emotions quirk." Mirio said.

"Maybe I don't want to like anyone." Yurei said with a shrug, and popped another bear into her mouth.

"You said Shouto is a good kisser. He seems stable. Why not try to like someone that's not as violent?" Mirio asked.

"I had a big crush on Mina when I first came here. That was a bust." Yurei said.

"Then why not spend time with girls?"

"... I guess I could try and spend more time with Ochaco and Tsu. They're cool." Yurei said, and then sighed. "But spending time with people, time I don't have, doesn't fix my problem, which is Katsuki's temper."

Mirio nodded thoughtfully.

"Is Bakugou aware of his feelings for you?" Mirio asked.

She paused.

"... he once got drunk and screamed about fucking me. I don't know if he remembers that, though." Yurei said.

"Maybe he doesn't realize that he likes you. Maybe once he acknowledges that, he can deal with his issues better." Mirio suggested.

"Katsuki? Deal with his issues?" Yurei asked with a deadpan expression.

12.

March 5th, Monday, 3:00 PM

"So you went swimming with Yurei, huh?" Eijirou said in the locker room.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted, not looking his way as he focused on his locker.

Katsuki had been weird the last few weeks, more so than usual, and Eijirou was concerned.

"You went swimming with her?" Denki and Mineta asked in unison.

"The idiot didn't know how to swim. She sinks like a goddamn rock." Katsuki replied as he changed.

"What does she look like in a bikini?" Mineta asked with a weird face, and eyes went wide as Katsuki turned abruptly in his direction. Katsuki kicked him in the face, hard, sending Mineta falling to the ground with a bloody nose.

"Do you see her as a sister, or something? Or do you like her?" Eijirou asked Katsuki, trying to give him an out.

"She's annoying." Katsuki replied, either ignoring or ignorant of Eijirou's attempt.

"Then why'd you beat up Shouto for kissing her?" Eijirou asked, and watched him tense.

"I beat him up because I felt like it. He was glaring at me earlier that night, waiting for me to pick a fight." Katsuki explained.

"And you chose to beat him up just after he kissed Yurei." Denki said, and jumped from Katsuki stomping onto his foot. "Stop doing that!"

"You at least realize that you like her, right Katsuki?" Eijirou asked him.

He glared at Eijirou, and Eijirou held his gaze. The hardening quirk user remained unmoved, his shirt in his hands as he calmly waited, observing his comrade react to his questions. Katsuki was angry, which wasn't unusual, but he seemed extra… raw, lately? Unstable?

"You're so mean to her, too. I don't get why she puts up with your ass." Denki said, and got his foot stomped on again. He screamed in pain, following up with a string of curses. Eijirou found it hard to feel sympathy for him when he easily could have dodged or kept his mouth shut.

Katsuki went outside, and Eijirou followed him, pulling his shirt over his head and tugging it down as they walked out the door. He followed him over to the weight lifting station, and watched the explosive blond as he got set up. They commonly spotted each other, so Eijirou was able to stay close and observe.

"You don't have to talk about it, I just want to make sure you're aware, so you don't accidentally lash out and kill someone." Eijirou told him.

"I don't like her." Katsuki said.

"That's bullshit, and you know it. Whether it's as a friend, something more, or something else… you two have something." Eijirou told him.

"Fuck off." Katsuki said, and Eijirou rolled his eyes.

"Come on, like I said, you don't have to talk about with me, I just want to make sure that you know." Eijirou told him.

"Fuck off." Katsuki repeated, and once his weights were set, he laid down. Eijirou got ready to spot him.

He lifted the bar off the hooks, bringing it closer to his chest, and Eijirou added his own weight, keeping him from lifting it up.

Katsuki glared at him, straining under the added weight, and Eijirou returned the stubborn glare.

"Yurei doesn't deserve to have another shit head knock her around." Eijirou said.

"It sounds like you like her a lot more than I do." Katsuki countered.

"Well, I've danced with her more times than you have." Eijirou said with a smirk, then his eyes widened in alarm as Katsuki pushed up against him. Eijirou tried to add more weight, but Katsuki was miraculously able to push him off, and put the weight back on its hooks. "Damn, Katsuki."

"Are you the one that has a crush on her?" Katsuki asked, rounding on him. He stood and stalked towards Eijirou with a murderous look in his eye.

"She's a friend, and she's a good person. I'm not the one getting violent over the mere mention of her. Everytime another guy comments on her being attractive, you hurt them." Eijirou told him.

"I don't like guys doing shit to her."

"Why?" Eijirou persisted.

Katsuki's hands sparked. Eijirou had his hardening quirk ready.

"Because they're gross." Katsuki replied.

"Do you care when Mina and I are together?" Eijirou asked.

"No."

"Do you care when Denki makes out with girls?"

"No."

"Then why do you care if it involves Yurei?" Eijirou asked.

"... I don't." Katsuki said, and averted his gaze.

"That's bullshit. You just said-" Eijirou said, and activated his quirk as Katsuki lunged. He carelessly left his midsection exposed, so Eijirou punched him in the gut, and threw him to the ground.

His red eyes narrowed into slits, and he moved to his feet again. This time, he went back to the locker room.

"We're not done, Katsuki." Eijirou said as he followed him, and the guys of their group were shoved as Katsuki went back to his locker. "What the hell is your problem? Why can't you just accept that you like her? What the hell happened to you in the past to make you so fucking messed up, or are you just that stupid and dense?"

Katsuki roughly grabbed his bag from his locker, and then slammed it shut.

"Answer me!" Eijirou shouted at him, and grabbed his shoulder, causing him to turn and face him.

Eijirou froze when he saw the tears, not expecting them. Watery red eyes bore into his own, his cheeks getting pink, and lips pulled back in a grimace.

He pushed him back, sending Eijirou stumbling back, and left.

12.

March 5th, Monday, 3:30 PM

Yurei stood outside Katsuki's room, wondering what she'd find once he opened that door. Eijirou had texted her. Apparently they had a fight at the gym, and Katsuki was pretty upset.

She knocked on the door.

"Eijirou told me what happened. Can I help?" Yurei asked.

"... fuck off." He replied.

Hearing her voice seemed to make him feel better, based on her emotions quirk.

"What's going on? How can I help?" Yurei asked.

"Just leave me alone, Blue Hair Girl." Katsuki replied.

He refused to ever call her by her name.

"Do you want me to use my quirk on you, or will you be okay? We could go get food. We could go to the ramen place down the street, or the sushi buffet…. We don't have to talk about what happened. We can talk about how shitty I am at swimming, or whatever." Yurei suggested.

She heard walking.

The door opened abruptly, and those familiar red eyes glared at her. His cheeks were a little red.

"You're garbage at swimming. You're a fucking rock." Katsuki said, and wiped his eyes before closing the door.

"Yep."

"I've never seen anyone so shitty at swimming." Katsuki said.

"Yep." Yurei said, and walked with him over to the buffet.

"You also look terrible in your swimsuit."

"I look fucking gorgeous in my swimsuit, fuck you."

13.

March 6th, Tuesday, 12:30 AM

Late that night, after working at Orion for seven hours, she glided into the dorms, too tired to use the doors.

Katsuki had been right.

Orion had been a mistake.

14.

March 6th, Tuesday, 5:50 AM

Yurei yawned as she sat on the edge of the lobby. They were doing training class in the large, multi-terrain building.

She sipped her coffee, barely awake, and barely registered that Mina was talking to her.

"Yurei, Yurei, Yurei, Yurei," Mina kept chanting, and knelt behind her, wrapping her arms around her.

"I'm tired, go away." Yurei whined.

"What happened with Katsuki yesterday? Eijirou is concerned." Mina asked.

"I took Katsuki out to food. He said I was ugly and a shit swimmer. Seemed to cheer him up." Yurei said, and took another sip of her warm drink.

"What is going on with you two? What's going on with Katsuki?" Mina asked.

"Who knows." Yurei shrugged.

Another sip.

"How'd your internship last night go?" Mina asked.

Yurei groaned.

"I got paired up with a big girl that yells a lot. She took me out patrolling. She was mean." Yurei said.

"How mean?" Mina asked.

_She called me a harlot that makes false rape accusations._

"Pretty mean. Meaner than Katsuki." Yurei said.

"Meaner than Katsuki? Is that even possible?" Mina asked.

"I just wanna sleep." Yurei said.

"Come together, class!" All Might announced, and Yurei groaned. "We're doing a group race today! Each of you will be split into two groups, and then everyone will be assigned a different section of the race. Everyone line up and pick a piece of paper from this hat."

Yurei was tempted to go back to her room to sleep. She already had extra credit in this class.

Despite wanting to leave, she got up, and picked one of the pieces of paper. She stood there, staring at it for a while, and waited for it to stop being blurry.

"Swimming? Really?" Katsuki laughed next to her, his eyes gleaming in sadistic entertainment. "Bet you wish that you had paid attention the other day."

Yurei yawned tiredly into her hand.

"What team are you on, Yurei?" Mina asked her excitedly.

"I dunno." Yurei said, and Mina took her paper from her, and squealed happily.

"We're on the same team! What team are you on, Katsuki?" Mina asked.

"Blue team, sprinting through the city part of the terrain." Katsuki said.

"Then go meet up with your team." Mina said, and stuck her tongue out at him.

15.

March 6th, Tuesday, 6:00 AM

Katsuki glanced over at the other team, where Yurei was barely awake.

There was no way that they would win with her on their team.

When she was like this in mornings, he had to effectively drag her around and directly show her what to do and how to do it. Half the reason he yelled at her so much was because she kept going to sleep, or she would forget basic fucking things.

And, by the looks of it, no one was going to yell at her, so she was going to fall asleep.

"You paying attention, Katsuki?" Eijirou asked.

"Not really." Katsuki shrugged. "Not that it matters. Blue Hair Girl is going to fall asleep, and she can't swim, so we've got this in the bag."

"I'd still like to have a plan ready." Eijirou said.

Katsuki only half paid attention as they planned, and then separated. He would stand on the edge of the lake, and once Tsu got to him with the glowing baton, he'd sprint to the city.

Unfortunately, when he got there, he realized that Deku had the same fucking task.

As they stood a few yards apart, waiting for the event to start, Deku occasionally glanced his way and would start sweating profusely.

Nerd was scared of him. _Good._

Katsuki looked over at the other side of the lake, and smirked. Yurei was literally asleep, laying on the ground and drooling. Tsu was stretching in her swimsuit, getting ready to go.

_Blue Hair Girl doesn't even have a swimsuit. She's not even awake. Deku won't even get the chance to run, and that's his specialty. By the time that Yurei gets to him, if she does at all, the race will be over._

Katsuki languidly stretched as well, and heard the race start in the distance. There was no way that his team could lose, even if he took his time.

_Easy win._ He thought with a smirk.

A few minutes later, he saw Mina and Ochaco racing against each other. Once they got to Tsu and Yurei, Tsu immediately jumped into the water with the baton in her tongue, and Mina kicked and screamed at Yurei to wake up.

Yurei sat up, grabbed the baton….

… and glided across the water.

Katsuki's eyes widened.

His body tensed.

Tsu was barely halfway across the lake when Deku got the baton, and burst into a sprint. Meanwhile, Yurei fell back to sleep on the ground, limbs spread out in an exhausted flop.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? TSU, GO FASTER! MOVE THOSE FUCKING FROG LEGS!" Katsuki screamed at her, and glared at Yurei. "YOU SAID THAT YOU COULDN'T SWIM, YOU DICK! YOU LYING PIECE OF SHIT! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

Yurei blinked her eyes open at him, and then raised her hand, sticking up her middle finger.

Something smashed into the side of his head, and he realized quickly that it was the baton. "DAMN IT!" He put it in his mouth, and used his quirk to fly across the stretch of land, trying to make up for lost time.

16.

March 6th, Tuesday, 12:00 PM

After her test, Yurei yawned into her hand, and was surprised to see Katsuki waiting outside for her. She'd worked on her test until the end, unlike most other students. She was slow.

"You said you couldn't swim." Katsuki said with a glare.

"That wasn't swimming, that was using my phase quirk." Yurei said, and he narrowed his eyes more. He grunted with a grumpy glare, and she yawned tiredly, trying to not fall asleep on the spot.

"Let's get food. I'm hungry." Yurei said.

He pushed off from the wall, and started to follow her.

"How'd you do on the test?" Yurei asked.

"It was easy." Katsuki shrugged.

"Yeah. I wish that I'd spent a little more time studying. I wish that I hadn't signed up for Orion. I was paired with such a dick last night." Yurei complained.

"What happened?" Katsuki asked.

"We just did patrol stuff, but she was mean. She has friends from my old school, and she didn't have a shortage of opinions. I'm going to be a lot more selective about what internships I do in the future." Yurei explained.

"I signed up for the internship with Orion." Katsuki said, and she looked at him in surprise. "It's a lot of money, and it's less than three weeks."

"So… you're going to be my partner for the next few weeks?" Yurei asked with a smile. He avoided looking at her, his hands shoved into his pockets and messy hair keeping her from seeing his blush.

"I guess." Katsuki shrugged.

"Did you sign up so that I wouldn't be paired with losers?" Yurei asked, still smiling.

"No, it's good money."

_Liar._

"Thank you." Yurei said.

"Whatever. Are you prepared for the exams next week?" Katsuki asked, and they switched over to talking about school.

17.

March 6th, Tuesday, 5:00 PM

When Yurei and Katsuki showed up to the Orion HQ that night, they were disturbed by what they were tasked to do that day.

… it was basically a party.

Dozens of professional heroes were there, dressed in their costumes, and there were also a bunch of casual people there as well. The casual people seemed to be hero tech designers.

Yurei had wondered why they were supposed to bring their costume designs. They were going to get feedback and critiques on them.

_Useful, but… boring._

"What the hell did I sign up for?" Katsuki asked, and then tensed. Yurei looked at what he was looking at, and realized that he was staring at The Jeanist.

Yurei chuckled, and he sent her a glare.

18.

March 7th, Wednesday, 3:00 PM

The next day, Katsuki was hesitant as he went to the locker room.

… he and Eijirou hadn't talked since their fight.

Katsuki hoped that they could pretend that it didn't happen. As he went to his usual spot, Eijirou and the others started to show up.

They nodded to each other, but didn't say anything.

19.

March 7th, Wednesday, 4:00 PM

As Yurei was on her way back to the dorms, she got a text.

A chill ran down her spine, and she shuddered violently, nearly throwing up. She stopped on the pathway, absorbing the words, and lost her sense of the world. Everything felt ten degrees colder as the texts rushed in.

_Unknown number: Happy Narwhal Day._

_Unknown number: I miss u._

_Unknown number: I forgive u. Please, talk 2 me._

_Unknown number: please_

_Unknown number: i love u_

_Unknown number: please_

Ikari got her number.

"Yureeei!" Mina yelled, tackling her in a hug from behind.

_How did he get my number?_

"Yurei?" Mina asked.

She kept staring at her phone.

"Who's that? New boyfriend? Is that why you won't go out with Katsuki? You have a secret boyfriend? Why would you keep this from me, Yu Yu!?" Mina screamed exaggeratedly as she hugged and tugged at her.

"You have a boyfriend, Yurei?" Eijirou asked as he came up from behind Mina, and put an arm around her.

"... no." Yurei said.

_Unknown number: i forgive u. Please talk to me._

She blocked the number.

"Then who was the text from?" Mina asked.

"Ikari." Yurei said in a low voice.

Mina and Eijirou tensed.

"Yurei has a boyfriend?" Denki asked as he walked up to them. Katsuki came up as well, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I misread a text she got! My bad!" Mina said awkwardly.

"Why don't you date more? Was Tenya that bad?" Denki asked her.

"That's part of it." Yurei shrugged as she put her phone away.

"How often do you get asked out?" Mashirao asked curiously.

"Once a week, about." Yurei said.

"How many of them has Katsuki beat up?" Denki asked, sending a smirk at Katsuki. The fiery blond stomped on his foot, and Denki cried out in pain, grabbing his foot as he hopped away.

Yurei rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself, and tensed when she felt her phone vibrate again.

She might have to get another number, again.

20.

March 7th, Wednesday, 4:30 PM

"Uuuuugh, can't you just get a new phone? This guy is creepy." Mina complained on the couch. She had taken up the task of watching Yurei's phone for her. If someone important texted her, like her mom or boss, she'd hand it back to Yurei. If it was Ikari again, she'd block the number.

"If I get a new number, then I have to contact everyone on my contacts list and text them the new number, which will be a pain." Yurei replied with a book on her lap.

"Can't swim my ass." Katsuki grumbled under his breath, and she looked at him, seeing that he was glaring at his own textbook.

"You're still mad about that?" Yurei asked with a grin.

"Fucking liar." He muttered, glaring at her.

"I wasn't lying. I can phase through water just like solid matter, but I can't actually swim." Yurei assured.

"Uh-huh." Katsuki said skeptically.

"If you tell us this guy's address, Katsuki and I can go there to beat him up." Eijirou offered, having started to read over Mina's shoulder.

"That won't help, but thanks." Yurei said.

"Ikari is the guy that stabbed you, right?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

"He stabbed you, too?" Mina asked, and Yurei glared at her.

_Do not say it outloud, Mina. Do not say it outloud._

"Anyone else still freaked from the League of Villains attack?" Eijirou asked, changing the conversation.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** I've been having a weird few weeks, and just saw the new Boku No Hero movie last night in theaters, so I felt like doing an extra update. :) It was great, and Bakugou was hilarious. :3 (the kid brother's voice bugged me the entire time, though, and I later realized it was because it was the same voice actress that did Crono in Soul Eater!)

Thank you for all the faves, follows, and reviews!

**Second Author's Note:** Okay side thing about Momentum's niece; when I was writing I had a vague idea for what to do with her involving a politician, and then later when I referenced her again I forgot about that side plot, so her situation got a little muddled. It doesn't matter too much in a long run, but if you notice that inconsistency later on, that's what happened.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Who Wins?_

March 7th, Wednesday, 11:30 PM

Yurei woke up to the sound of her phone ringing that night, and groaned, expecting it to be Ikari again. Instead, when she checked, she found a different name.

Katsuki.

"Hello?" She answered groggily.

"... hey." Katsuki muttered.

"You okay?" Yurei asked.

"... I was wondering if you c-could do the quirk thing on me… I'm so fucking tired. I feel like shit." Katsuki said.

She sighed.

"Yeah. I'll be right over." Yurei replied.

1.

March 8th, Thursday, 6:20 AM

The next morning, Yurei felt like a zombie as she jogged the tracks with everyone else. This was their last training class for the course; and, next term, they would focus more on strength building exercises.

Yurei yawned into her hand for the umpteenth time.

"Why are you so tired, Yurei? I thought you went to bed at a decent time?" Mina asked.

"Phone kept going off through the night." Yurei replied.

"Why didn't you just turn it off?" Mina asked.

"Cuz meh." Yurei said, and then, noticed that Hana was jogging next to Katsuki. She was giggling and smiling, as she usually did, and seemed to be flirting with him. Her hair was curled to perfection, bouncing with each step, and purple eyes sparkled cutely up at him. Her exercise clothes were leggings and a form fitting shirt, hugging at her small waist and emphasizing her breasts and ass.

"Hana is going after your man, Yurei." Mina said in a low voice.

Then, Katsuki reached up, putting his hand over Hana's face, and shoved her, sending her screaming and toppling over into the grass.

Yurei and Mina burst into laughter.

2.

March 8th, Thursday, 6:50 AM

Later, in the same class, they were taking a water break from exercises. Yurei collapsed on the ground, breathing hard, and Mina collapsed nearby.

"Hey, Katsuki," Hana spoke in a loud, cutesy voice.

Yurei looked over, and saw that she was trying to talk to Katsuki while he was getting a drink of water. He was sweaty, his clothes worn from use with a few holes from his quirk. Despite his lack of attempt to look nice for training, certain angles were flattering on him, and his biceps and calves were well toned.

"You were super fast today. How do you have so many muscles?" Hana asked.

Katsuki gave her a deadpan look, and his eye twitched. He looked torn between ignoring her and punching her.

She kept smiling up at him, and giggled. "You make the funniest faces."

"Why are you talking to me?" Katsuki asked.

"I had a lot of fun the other night. I thought you were really cool." Hana said.

Yurei could sense Katsuki's huge flux in emotion, shifting to disgust and loathing, and Yurei was worried that he might lash out at her. He was already on thin ice with the school because of all the fights he got in, and beating up Hana outside of a class activity during class could get him into a lot of trouble.

"Katsukiiiiiiii," Yurei whined loudly, getting his attention. "I'm tired. Bring me water."

"Get your own damn water, you lazy cunt." Katsuki snapped at her, and started to walk over to her with his water bottle. As he walked, he started to calm down.

"That's mean. Why are you always so mean?" Yurei asked.

"Why are you always so whiny?" Katsuki asked, and tossed her his water bottle. She caught it.

"Because you keep yelling at me. One of these days I'm going to cry, and you're going to feel bad." Yurei said, and sat up to take a sip of his water. Her abdominal muscles hurt from the crunch, and she flinched.

"You have cried, and I never feel bad. You cry every damn time we work out." Katsuki told her as she drank the water, and then she tossed it back to him.

"Because you make me do things that hurt." Yurei told him.

"No pain, no gain." Katsuki said with a smirk.

3.

March 8th, Thursday, 7:00 AM

"I want to pair up with Katsuki." Hana announced with a giggle and grin.

All Might was going to go around with a checklist, and once everyone demonstrated the moves they learned that term, they could leave. Yurei could sense Katsuki's anger flux again, and he glared as Hana wrapped her hands around his arm.

All Might stood there awkwardly.

"Um… I think it would be better if everyone paired with someone of their gender. Bakugou is…." All Might trailed off awkwardly. "A bit out of your weight class."

"It's okay. We're just demonstrating the hand-to-hand sparring moves from this term, right? They don't require people to be a certain size, and…" As she continued, Yurei grabbed Eijirou and shoved him towards Katsuki.

"Eijirou wants to pair with Katsuki." Yurei said.

"Excellent!" All Might said quickly, and Katsuki shoved Hana away. As All Might started going around to each pairing, Yurei and Mina started to practice.

"Eijirou probably just saved Hana's life. He was ready to kill her." Yurei whispered to Mina.

"He did seem pretty upset." Mina replied, and they both focused on the task. Mina came at Yurei from behind, and Yurei did the usual flip, rolling Mina over her back, but sent Mina a little further than usual. Mina screamed in the launch, and Yurei's eyes widened in surprise, watching her friend hit the padding much harder than she'd intended.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry! Are you okay!?" Yurei asked quickly, and ran over to her. Mina lay on her back for a moment, seeming surprised, and then tilted her head to look at Yurei.

"Do it again!" Mina said as she excitedly jumped to her feet.

3.

March 8th, Thursday, 7:20 AM

Katsuki was on his way out of the padded gym area to head back to the dorms, to shower and change into normal clothes, when Hana approached him. She seemed to have been waiting outside the door, and followed him as he walked.

She giggled and skipped, keeping up with him.

Seeing her made his skin crawl. He kept thinking about her in that closet, and how she kept reaching for his junk.

_Pervert._ He thought with a glare, and wished that Hana and Mineta would pair up so that they'd leave him alone.

"Hey, there. How are you, Katsuki?" Hana asked.

"None of your fucking business." Katsuki retorted.

She giggled and smiled. His eye twitched.

"You're such a bad boy. It's hot." Hana said with a weird face. The only reason why he didn't punch her in the face was because he'd get suspended. Like hell he'd get suspended right before finals and flunk all of his courses.

"You're a pervert. Fuck off." Katsuki told her. Then, he felt a hand on his ass, and he jumped. He smacked her arm away.

"Ow!" She yelled, and he hurried his pace, grinding his teeth and shoving his hands into his pockets.

She jogged to catch up with him.

He hurried his pace.

"I want to ask you something, Katsuki-kun." Hana said, and her words sent another chill down his spine. They reached the dorms, and he pulled out his key card.

Red.

"I was wondering-"

Red.

"Would you go out with me?"

Red.

"I have reservations for a nice restaurant-"

Red.

"We can get some good food, nice wine-"

Red.

"Listen to good music-"

Red.

"Maybe go back to my place-"

Red.

_Why the fuck couldn't I have been born with phase powers, like Yurei?_

Green.

Katsuki pulled the door open, which smacked into Hana's shoulder, and he quickly closed it behind him as he hurried to his room.

"So what's your answer?" Hana asked as she followed him

_Of course, her card works on the first fucking try._

"No." Katsuki answered.

"But-"

"No." Katsuki said as he walked quickly. She was ridiculously fast for someone so tiny.

When he got back to his room, he slammed his door shut, and locked it.

"But Katsuki-kuuuuun~" Hana whined from outside.

3.

March 8th, Thursday, 7:20 AM

"I'm sorry, Mina." Yurei apologized again as they went to the locker room to change.

"It's okay, Yurei! You're getting muscle, and that's good! It means that your training with Katsuki is paying off." Mina said.

"I guess, but I still feel bad for hurting you." Yurei said.

"It's okay, really! I'm used to getting thrown around by Eijirou. It's fun and kind of hot." Mina said with an eye wiggle, and Yurei laughed.

4.

March 8th, Thursday, 9:55 AM

Yurei looked over towards the door when she sensed a powerful surge of anger and uncomfortableness.

Katsuki was sitting at a table on the other side of the classroom, and Hana was sitting on the table's surface, wearing a short skirt. Her lips were glossy pink and sparkly, quirking up into a smile, and she giggled loudly. Most of the class was openly gawking at them.

"You say such cute things, Katsuki." Hana giggled.

"Would you fuck off?" Katsuki asked her curtly, and she started giggling.

"She's so cute." A few of the boys in the back said.

Katsuki's eye twitched.

Deku hadn't gotten there yet.

Yurei texted Katsuki, telling him to sit next to her if Hana was bothering him. As soon as he got the text, he grabbed his stuff, stomped across the room, and tossed his bag next to the empty seat. He flicked the side of her head, and she glared at him.

"Fuck off. That's Deku's seat." Yurei said.

"It's mine, now." Katsuki said with a smirk, sat in the seat, and propped his feet on the table with his usual arrogance. He went back to looking at his phone.

Hana came over to them, planning to get at Katsuki again.

"You're not in this class, Hana. You got bored of stalking me so you're stalking him, now?" Yurei asked her.

"Jealous, much?" Hana asked with a smirk.

"Katsuki just moved clear across the room to sit next to me. I don't have anything to be jealous about." Yurei said.

"He and I had a lot of fun the other night at the party. Right, Katsuki?" Hana asked.

"No. Fuck off." Katsuki growled, gripping his phone hard. Hana giggled, and he sent another glare in her direction.

"Hey, Hana, class is about to start. You might want to head out for now." Mashirao said politely.

Hana looked to the clock, and made an 'oh!' sound. "Sorry, thanks for the heads up! See you later, Katsuki-kun~!"

She blew him a kiss on the way out. Katsuki's eye twitched.

"Why haven't you punched her yet?" Yurei asked him curiously.

"If I hit her, I get suspended. Like hell I'm going to get suspended right before finals." Katsuki said in a low voice.

"... huh." Yurei said, and he looked up curiously. "I didn't know that you could show restraint."

"I show restraint all the fucking time." Katsuki said loudly, and the people behind them started laughing. "I'm showing a lot of restraint right now by not murdering ALL OF YOU!" Katsuki shouted at them.

5.

March 8th, Thursday, 2:00 PM

"American food is disgusting but delicious." Yurei said, munching on her fries as she and Katsuki entered the dorm. As Katsuki took two of her fries, she yelled and hit his arm.

"I asked you if you wanted your own fries, and you said 'no', so you get no fries." Yurei told him.

Katsuki snagged her fries away, and she gasped.

"No!" She reached up, going to her tippy toes, and he held it out of her reach. She smacked his arm, and he used his other hand to reach up, take two of the fries, and started to put them in his mouth.

Yurei phased through him, gliding up, took the fries, and then the rest of her fries, and glided across the floor, away from him. In an instant, he charged at her, going into a full sprint.

She zoomed away, shoving her fries into her face, and phased through walls to get away from him. When she ended up in the kitchen, she finished off the last of the fries, and just when she solidified, she felt like she'd been hit by a truck. A blur of yellow tackled her, nearly knocking the wind out of her, and her body collided with the hard ground.

Katsuki's massive hand held down her head, shoving the back of her head into the ground, his palm on her forehead, and she felt him take the fries container out of her hand. He sat on her, heavy and stable, unyielding.

"You ate all of it?" Katsuki asked, and then released the pressure on her head. He got up, and held out his hand to her.

"You tackled me over fucking french fries?" Yurei asked as she took his hand, and regretted it as he roughly pulled her up, nearly pulling her arm out of her socket. "Geez, dude,"

"You should have just given me the french fries." Katsuki shrugged.

"I offered to get you french fries and you turned them down." Yurei reminded him, holding her arm and flinching at the pain.

"What's going on? You okay?" Deku asked as he came in.

"Fuck off, Deku." Katsuki told him.

Yurei hit Katsuki's shoulder.

"You tackled me over french fries!" Yurei shouted at him.

"That was not a tackle." Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes.

"Then how did I end up on the floor?" Yurei asked him.

"You fell. Duh." Katsuki said with a straight face.

"You tackled me over french fries!" Yurei shouted at him, and hit his arm again.

"Why did you tackle her over french fries?" Deku asked Katsuki.

"It's none of your business, Deku!" Katsuki shouted at him, causing the shorter student to cower and cringe.

"Tackling jerk." Yurei mumbled as she phased through the wall, and went over to the lounge, where Mina and Eijirou, along with a few others, were. "Katsuki tackled me. He's mean."

She sat next to Mina, still holding her arm, and set her bag next to the couch.

"He tackled you?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, he tackled me over french fries. He tried to steal my french fries and then he tackled me after I ate them." Yurei explained.

"Oi, Katsuki, why are you tackling random girls?" Eijirou asked, and she looked over to see Katsuki casually strolling up to them, looking bored. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked calm, as if he hadn't just _fucking tackled her to the ground_.

"I didn't tackle anyone." Katsuki said with a straight face.

"Liar! Tackling jerk." Yurei said, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's not cool to tackle girls, dude." Hanta told him, and Katsuki sent a glare his way.

Yurei leaned to the side, and rested her head on Mina's shoulder. Her shoulder was so comfy that she accidentally fell asleep.

6.

March 9th, Friday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, Yurei was a lot better rested than the day before. Her arm hurt like hell, though.

She descended the steps, and came across Katsuki in the lounge, leaning against the back of the couch. Upon her arrival, he glanced up, and put his phone away.

"My arm still hurts from yesterday. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do today." Yurei told him. Having sore muscles wasn't unusual for her, since Katsuki pushed her almost everyday, but actual injuries were surprisingly rare.

He pushed off from the couch, walking over to her with the usual damp hair. His dark eyes locked onto her injured arm, and he reached out, tentatively feeling her arm. His fingers grazed her skin, sending sparks along her arm, but she stayed still.

When he touched a sore spot, she flinched, and his perceptive eyes flickered to her face.

"What parts of your arm hurts?" Katsuki asked, lowering his voice.

"The bicep area, and then back of my shoulder." Yurei answered, and he felt around the injured areas. She occasionally flinched as he gingerly touched her sore flesh, and she tried not to think about how nice it felt for him to touch her.

_I wish he would touch other places like that._

She bit the inside of her cheek and looked away.

"What?" Katsuki asked.

"Nothing." Yurei said.

"What?" Katsuki repeated.

"Nothing."

Katsuki tried to gently take her chin and make her face him, but she phased through his hand. He chuckled, and she glanced at him.

When they were alone, they sometimes had small, serene moments like this. This was one of those rare moments where he didn't feel depressed or sad. His emotions got close to crossing into happy, which was so rare for him.

"Since you broke my arm, does this mean that we can skip training?" Yurei asked.

"No, it just means that it's leg day." Katsuki said, and as her shoulders fell, she winced at the pain.

7.

March 23rd, Friday, 6:00 AM

Two weeks went by in a blur.

Finals week was stressful, and then over their week long spring break, Yurei and Katsuki worked at their internships more, since it didn't conflict with classes. Both of the internships were officially done for the term.

Yurei yawned as she descended the steps, and saw the familiar figure by the door. He'd gotten surprisingly more relaxed over the last two weeks, and she was glad to see that he was improving so much.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Yurei asked.

"Hn." He grunted.

"You really need to see someone about that. It's not healthy for you to not get sleep." Yurei told him, and he grunted again as he opened the door for her.

8.

March 23rd, Friday, 6:10 AM

Mirio was guilty of wanting to spy on his cousin again.

Even though the school gym was officially closed over spring break, they somehow got a key inside. Mirio hid by the door, and peered inside. He rationalized that this was stealth training, not spying, so it was okay.

Yurei was lifting weights, now, and didn't seem to be struggling. Katsuki was over her, spotting for her, and they seemed to be having a casual conversation. They both seemed relaxed in their routine.

"So you're going to take the internship?" Yurei spoke.

"My parents are being dicks about it. Apparently I'm not allowed to say 'no', and I'm going to a dumb dinner tonight with one of the families behind it." Katsuki said.

"They're not going to marry you off to establish power in this quadrant, are they?" Yurei asked, and Mirio clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

"You are such a weirdo. No, but my mom might be setting me up with a girl. She does that sometimes." Katsuki said, and Yurei's movements seemed to falter. "You've got seven more to go."

"I thought you weren't into the dating scene." Yurei said as she went back to lifting and lowering the weight at a steady pace.

"I'm not. Doesn't mean that my mom can't force me into it when she's bored. It usually ends with the girl crying and my mom yelling at me." Katsuki explained.

Mirio's grip on his mouth tightened.

_Go for it, Yurei, go!_ Mirio inwardly cheered.

"Do your parents ever set you up with people?" Katsuki asked.

"No. My mom wants me to be happy, and to choose my own partner. She would be happy with me dating anyone, but… she's not too happy with me dating no one. When I first came here and mentioned liking Mina, she was so thrilled. Since I haven't mentioned anyone in a while… well, she's been getting… anxious. She wants grandkids, but the idea of having kids terrifies me." Yurei said.

"Kids are terrible little assholes." Katsuki said.

"I'll bet that you were the worst of them all." Yurei said.

Katsuki pondered her for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to take offense, but he eventually smirked and shrugged. "I haven't gotten much better."

"You've gotten worse, like bad cheese that's started growing mold."

"So long as I'm bigger than all the other pieces of cheese, I don't give a shit." Katsuki said, and Yurei laughed. "One more."

"No, that was seven." Yurei said.

"Yeah, but I think you should do one more." Katsuki said.

Mirio's smile widened.

"You said seven." Yurei reminded him.

"Two more, for talking back." Katsuki said, smirking at her.

"I hope you never reproduce. Your offspring would be demons." Yurei said.

"As if you were a little angel when you were a kid. I'll bet that you were just as bad." Katsuki said, and Yurei struggled as she tried to do two more reps. "I'll bet that you were that prissy little princess that always got what she wanted."

"... not exactly." Yurei said, and when the two reps her done, Katsuki helped her get the bar back on the hooks.

"I'll bet that you've never struggled a day in your life." Katsuki said.

"... I never had many friends growing up, actually. The only friend I had growing up was Ikari, and he turned on me. I had a few loose friends here or there, but they always ended up turning on me. Even family members." Yurei said, and Mirio frowned at that. His father hadn't been very kind to her in the past, always resenting his brother for marrying Yurei's mom. She 'tarnished' the family name, and Yurei experienced that hate by proxy.

Most of Yurei's family, outside of her parents, Mirio, and his little sister, disliked her.

Yurei sat up and stretched her arms. Mirio hid further from sight.

"Why'd they turn on you? Because you're weird?" Katsuki asked.

"They either hated me for my mom being a pornstar, or they became paranoid and thought I was manipulating them. And then, when Ikari attacked me, it felt like everyone turned on me. No one looks at me the same anymore." Yurei said.

"You've had how many people thank you for saving their lives, though? I've saved people and I've never had them sob on me." Katsuki said.

"It always makes me feel so weird when people do that. No matter how many people I save, I'll always be the daughter of a pornstar or a victim. There's always so much pressure for me to use my quirk to save as many people as possible, and I just… it always comes back to being the daughter of a pornstar or victim. I never really feel like a hero." Yurei described, and Mirio suddenly felt guilty for overhearing.

He had no idea that she felt that way.

"At least people don't accuse you of being a villain all the time, or talk shit about you for not liking sex. I'm so tired of people." Katsuki admitted.

Mirio slowly left, deciding that he'd heard a little too much of their intimate moment.

8.

March 23rd, Friday, 9:30 AM

"YUREIIII!" Mina shrieked as she bounded into the dining room, and hugged Yurei from behind. "I missed you so much!"

"I'm a bit sore, can you be a little gentler? Also, I missed you, too." Yurei replied, and Mina quickly sat down next to her.

"How was your spring break? Have you and Katsuki fucked yet?" Mina asked.

"No, and we're not going to. I'm not into him like that." Yurei said.

"Liar." Mina said, and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Hey Mina, we were thinking of going to the beach today as a group. Do you want to go?" Denki asked across the table.

Mina screamed in excitement, which caused the people in the room to cover their ears or cringe.

"We should go tomorrow, because Eiji will be here! Oh my gosh, Yurei, we can go bathing suit shopping today with that internship money you got!" Mina exclaimed.

"You should rope in the other girls into going." Denki suggested, and Mina gasped.

"I know you said that to be weird, but that's a great idea! We can get Tsu, Ochaco, Toru- aah this will be so much fun!" Mina exclaimed, and started texting people.

9.

March 23rd, Friday, 12:30 PM

"Mina, stop picking out such revealing bathing suits for me. Those are more like stripper outfits." Yurei told Mina.

Mina snickered as she ignored her and continued picking out bathing suits to try on. Yurei half expected her choices to be more about Mina seeing her in the swimsuit, rather than Katsuki seeing her.

"Why do you keep pushing her, Mina? She said that she doesn't like Katsuki, and that's probably a good thing. He's terrifying." Ochaco said.

"They do spend a lot of time together, though." Tsu pointed out.

"Just because a guy and girl spend time together, doesn't mean that they have to like each other." Ochaco said, and Yurei tensed slightly. She used to make that argument when people accused her of liking Ikari.

Her phone vibrated, and she pulled out her phone, surprised by the text.

_Dumb face (Katsuki): y the fuck are u getting a new bathing suit? U already have 1_

_Me: Mina's idea._

Then, Yurei pulled back out one of the skimpier outfits, and took a picture. She sent it to him.

_Dumb face: r u changing career stripper?_

Yurei smiled, and then realized that Mina was staring at her with a knowing look.

"Is Katsuki texting you?" Mina asked.

"... it's a thing about training." Yurei defended.

"What about training?" Mina asked, and Yurei tried to think of a good excuse.

"He was thinking of not doing training tomorrow since we're going to the beach." Yurei said.

"Can I see?" Mina asked.

"No." Yurei said, and put it in her pocket.

"You're lying." Mina accused.

"No I'm not." Yurei defended.

"Then why won't you let me read the text?" Mina asked.

"Because that would be an invasion of privacy."

"Give it!" Mina shouted, and tackled her to the ground, unceremoniously trying to get her phone.

10.

March 23rd, Friday, 12:30 PM

"Texting Yurei?" Denki asked across the table.

Katsuki looked up, realizing that Denki and Mashirao were smirking at him.

Katsuki's smile fell.

He kicked Denki in the shin.

11.

March 23rd, Friday, 6:30 PM

That night, Katsuki sulked as he waited by the door.

He had to wear his nice clothes that night. His mom kept reminding him to be "nice."

When the doorbell rang, his mom hurried to the door, and let them in. Only then did he catch their names.

Kojo.

Hana Kojo.

Hana was with them, dressed in a bright blue dress and cutesy pigtails. Katsuki's mom called her "adorable", and Hana responded with a giggle.

Katsuki glared at her, mustering up as much hatred and animosity in the look as he could muster, but she seemed to either miss the insidious intent or didn't care.

As they moved over to the dining room for dinner, Katsuki was told to sit next to her. He was tense and quiet as his parents did most of the talking, chatting with Hana's parents while everyone got situated. When they started to eat, however, Katsuki felt a hand on his thigh.

His heart rate sped up.

He grabbed Hana's wrist, to move her hand, and she cried out in pain.

"Katsuki!" His mom yelled, and hit him upside the head. "What did you do!?"

"He hurt my hand." Hana pouted.

"Katsuki!" His mom shouted, and hit him again.

"It's okay, Mrs. Bakugou. I don't know what I did to upset you, Katsuki, but I'm sorry." Hana said.

"Apologize, Katsuki." His mother demanded.

"_Apologize to your uncle, Katsuki."_

"It's okay, Mrs. Bakugou. Let's just enjoy this meal." Hana said.

"You are too sweet, Hana." His mom said, and hit him over the head again.

As the adults went back to talking, Hana put her hand on his thigh again. Katsuki tensed, and felt a sickly feeling crawl over him, as if a batch of spider eggs had hatched on his skin.

He felt sick, nausea clawing at his stomach and creeping up towards his larynx. He wanted her to stop. His mom wouldn't believe him. His dad especially wouldn't. She kept touching his leg, and he had to sit there and act like it wasn't happening. Again.

He hated his life.

He wanted this to end.

He wanted to throttle everyone.

Katsuki abruptly stood up, muttered "bathroom", and left. As soon as he was in the bathroom, he shuddered out a breath, and put a hand to his chest, trying to regulate his breathing.

His hands shook.

His stomach did somersaults.

He sat down on the toilet, pulled out his phone, and pulled up a picture of Yurei on his phone. It was dumb, but looking at it calmed him down sometimes. He theorized that it was because of her quirk. He'd started associating her with feeling calmness and in control.

He didn't feel in control right then. He felt like he was going to explode.

He focused on Yurei's features. She was pouting at him, after he stole one of her french fries (again), and there was a slight bruise on her cheek. She was wearing a cute white top with a pair of bright pink pants, and then turquoise jewelry to match her hair. The lighting wasn't particularly flattering, making her skin look much grayer than it was.

His breathing started to even out a little.

Her hazel eyes were bright in that lighting, shining at him, and her make up sparkled slightly. Greens and blues were around her eyes, bringing out the color, and then her glossy lip balm had blue sparkles, matching her hair.

When he got a text, a small smile tugged at his lips. He tapped it, opening it up, and his eyebrows rose.

… it was a picture of her in a bikini, standing in front of a mirror. Someone else took the picture for her.

_Blue Hair Girl: AAAAAAH MINA SENT THAT_

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE IT_

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE IT_

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE IT_

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE IT_

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE IT_

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT_

Saved.

Katsuki went back to the picture, still smiling, and admired it for a moment. It was a lot skimpier than her usual swim suit, which was just a simple blue one piece. This was a bright red bikini with purple polka-dots, which made her breasts look slightly bigger than usual and her butt rounder.

Her training was definitely showing.

He went back to the new texts, finding a lot of crying emojis.

_Me: Is that what you're wearing tomorrow?_

_Blue Hair Girl: NO. NO, IT IS NOT. IT WAS A JOKE BATHING SUIT. I THOUGHT IT WAS CUTE SO I GOT IT BUT NEVER MEANT TO WEAR IT IN PUBLIC AND I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DELETE THE PICTURE_

Katsuki tried not to laugh. Mina wanted them to hook up so bad.

_Me: Looks better than your usual swim suit. :P_

_Blue Hair Girl: I WANNA CUK U_

_Blue Hair Girl: ALL NIGHT LONG_

Mina stole her phone.

_Me: Where and when?_

Katsuki grinned.

_Blue Hair Girl: FOURSOME WITH MINA AND EIJI._

_Blue Hair Girl: TONIGHT_

_Blue Hair Girl: AAAW YA_

_Blue Hair Girl: CANT WAIT TO FUK_

_Blue Hair Girl: MINA STOLE MY PHONE_

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE ALL OF THAT._

_Blue Hair Girl: IGNORE_

He covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

_Me: time and place for "fuk"ing?_

_Blue Hair Girl: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH_

12.

March 24th, Saturday, 9:30 AM

The next morning, Yurei quietly drank her coffee as her classmates squealed and screamed in excitement.

Beach day.

They were going to take the bus over to the coast, and had a lot of things planned. They were prepared to play volleyball, sun bathe, swim, and a variety of other activities.

"I'm going to MURDER ALL OF YOU!" Katsuki screamed across the room, talking with some of the boys.

"We haven't even chosen teams yet, Katsuki. We might end up being on the same team." Eijirou told him.

"I don't need a team to kick your asses!" Katsuki replied.

Yurei smiled softly at his arrogance, but she could tell that something was wrong. She could sense him from across the room, an unsettling type of guilt, and he seemed a little more aggressive than normal. He was always aggressive with the guys, but today, there was an edge to it.

Yurei shifted the bag on her shoulder, and took another sip of her coffee. She brought a lot of food to eat with her, along with a blanket to sunbath, and bathingsuit to change into once they got there.

A blush tinted her cheeks as she remembered the previous night.

Mina was terrible.

Yurei wanted to ask Katsuki about how the dinner went last night, but she also didn't want to confront him after what happened. She had never intended for anyone except Mina see her in that bikini.

Katsuki seemed really upset, though.

_Maybe he's upset because of the texting. Mina had been too forward. She knows that he gets uncomfortable about sex._

She tried not to cry in embarrassment, going back to sipping her coffee, and pulled out her phone.

She got a text from Momentum that morning.

_Momentum: Thank you so much for what you did for my niece. She's going to be starting school again on Monday, and you've inspired her so much. She wants to be a counselor now, to help other victims like her. She wants to be a hero, just like you. Thank you so much. She said that she was close to suicide before you talked to her. My niece might not be alive right now, if it wasn't for you. Thank you._

At the end of the text, there was an additional picture. Kagura was in her school uniform, but now, her hair was dyed like Yurei's.

… Yurei wasn't sure how to respond to that.

… she thought that Kagura would have crashed by the next day. There was no way that their conversation could do so much.

_Maybe the crash just hasn't happened yet._ Yurei wondered with a frown.

_Momentum: She says that when she's feeling scared, now, she looks at her hair and thinks of you. Her hair is her cape, now._

Yurei bit the inside of her cheek, her insides twisting uncomfortably. She felt a lot of things, but she couldn't figure out what they were or how to put them into words.

"Did that Ikari asshole text you again?" Mina asked as she walked up to her.

"No." Yurei said, and Mina snatched her phone away.

"Who's this girl?" Mina asked.

"... Momentum's niece." Yurei replied.

"Wasn't she in the news recently?" Mina asked as she started to read it.

"The news?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah, some high school student is accusing a politician of raping her." Mina said.

_Oh, god, did I get caught up in some kind of scandal?_

"Oh my gosh, Yurei! How are you so wonderful? You saved Momentum's niece's life?" Mina asked her, then started walking over to the group of guys across the room. "Eiji, you have to read what Momentum texted Yurei!"

"Mina, stop taking my phone," Yurei said, and made a weak attempt to get it back, but her coffee and bag made it difficult.

Eijirou got her phone, and as he started to read, other people gathered behind him to read over his shoulder. Yurei sipped her coffee awkwardly, waiting for them to read all of it.

"Damn it, you're our age but you're basically a pro already. I'm so jealous." Denki said.

"This is amazing, Yurei. This is the girl that was on the news, isn't it?" Eijirou asked.

"I think so." Mina said with a nod.

"You're just leaving all of us in the dust." Eijirou said, and handed the phone back to her.

Katsuki seemed to have calmed down, glancing between the different people talking.

"Why are you making such a weird face? Someone is alive because of you! You made a positive difference in someone's life!" Mina asked.

"I dunno. I'm just weird." Yurei said awkwardly.

"Let's head to the beach! Wooooo!" Ochaco exclaimed excitedly by the door.

13.

March 24th, Saturday, 10:00 AM

Katsuki and Yurei ended up sitting next to each other on the bus. Everyone else was loud and talking excitedly about the trip.

The bus ride would only be a half hour long.

Yurei had the window seat, and ever since the text thing, she'd gotten quiet and solemn. As much as he disliked seeing her sad, being around her had calmed his nerves tremendously. Thinking about her was the only way to make his thoughts stop focusing on last night's dinner.

He'd spent most of the dinner in the bathroom, until his dad coaxed him out. Then, Hana kept touching him again.

"Blue Hair Girl," Katsuki spoke, getting her attention. "So when's the foursome going to be?"

Her eyes went wide, her cheeks going red, and she covered her face with her hands.

"You weren't so shy last night." Katsuki further teased.

"Shut up. I hate you." Yurei groaned. She brought her legs up, bringing her knees to her chest, and kept her hands over her face.

"So why'd you buy the bikini if you didn't plan to wear it in public?" Katsuki asked.

"Shut up." Yurei told him. A lock of hair fell from her braid onto her face, and he instinctively reached over and tucked it behind her ear.

She stilled at the contact, and his hand lingered, entertained by her tensed posture.

"Kiss her." Something whispered nearby, and Katsuki looked over, jumping in alarm when he realized that they were being watched. Mina, sitting in the seat directly in front of him, was on her knees, staring intensely at him with her hands on the back of the seat.

Eijirou seemed to notice, and looked between them.

"Mina, you're crossing into creepy territory." Eijirou told her.

"When is she not in creepy territory?" Katsuki replied.

"You two have been flirting for weeks! Just do it already!" Mina yelled. Eijirou reached around her midsection, pulling her away, and sat her down on his lap. They started having a quiet conversation, and Katsuki rolled his eyes, deciding to spend the rest of the ride in silence.

14.

March 24th, Saturday, 12:30 PM

Yurei sat up, nice and toasty, and looked around at their classmates on the beach. Most of them were playing volleyball, and trying to not be the victim of Katsuki's rage. He was channeling a lot of anger that day, and Yurei was just glad that he had a non-murdery outlet for it.

The scent of salt stung her nose, and strawberries lingered in her mouth. Ochaco had been nice enough to bring extra strawberries, and lay next to her on her own blanket, soaking up rays. Soon, they'd switch to an umbrella, but not yet.

Deku approached them, with his usual innocent smile. Like the boys, he wore swim trunks, and his training showed.

"Hey, Yurei, Ochaco, Mina." Deku said with a friendly wave. "Do you guys want to come with me to get some ice cream?"

"Not me. I'm trying to watch my figure." Mina said.

"I'll go." Yurei said, and Ochaco agreed to go, too.

"I'll watch our stuff." Mina offered. As they were getting up to leave, they heard some extra commotion from the volleyball game.

"Take a walk, Katsuki. Chill the fuck out. Maybe go take a dip." Mashirao told Katsuki loudly.

"You all suck at this game!" Katsuki said, and kicked the sand.

"Hey, Ka-chan! Do you want to get ice cream with us?" Deku asked, and those angry red eyes turned to him, causing Deku to freeze in place.

"Come on, weirdo, and try not to kill anyone along the way." Yurei told Katsuki, unaffected by his glare. Sweat drenched his limbs, glistening in the harsh sun and emphasizing his muscles. He was tense, angry, and needed something to lash out at or distract himself with.

"Maybe I'll drag you into the ocean afterwards, Blue Hair Girl." Katsuki said with a glare as he stalked towards them.

"Since I can't swim, I can only guess that means that you're going to try and drown me." Yurei said.

"We wouldn't go that far, idiot. I'm not going to risk getting sucked into a current just to drown you. That would be too much effort." Katsuki said, and she rolled his eyes. Despite his harsh tone, he started to calm down as he got closer.

"H-how's your day going, B-Bakugou?" Ochaco asked nervously, as they started to walk together.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted.

"Was your team winning, at least?" Yurei asked him.

"Of course we were." Katsuki scoffed. Once they got out of the sand to solid ground, Yurei and Ochaco switched to sandals they'd been carrying, and started to walk towards the ice cream shop.

"Katsuki! Izuku!" Someone exclaimed, and Yurei was startled by the sudden panic that came from Katsuki.

Whoever was here, absolutely terrified Katsuki.

"Uncle Asahi!" Deku exclaimed with a smile, and the group turned to the new figure. They were older, maybe in their sixties, with black hair mixed with white strands. A gentle smile tugged as his mouth, his nose was wide, and overall, his face was a little wider than normal. He wore a simple outfit, and was carrying a bag with him.

"You still remember me, little Izuku? Or should I say, big Izuku? You've gotten so big!" Asahi said, and Deku laughed.

"Yeah, I started hero training this last fall. I'm going to UA University with Ka-chan." Deku explained.

"Oh, I'm so happy that you two are still friends after all these years. You were always such a good influence on my nephew." Asahi said, and she watched Katsuki further tense. His hands were balled into fists, and his muscles were tense. He didn't show much expression on his face, but kept his eyes trained on Asahi, like he was a villain that could attack at any moment.

"And who are these lovely ladies? Your girlfriends?" Asahi asked, turning to Ochaco and Yurei.

"I'm Deku's girlfriend, Ochaco Uraraka." Ochaco introduced.

"You are so beautiful, I'm so happy that Izuku ended up with such a lovely girl. Does that make you Katsuki's girlfriend?" Asahi asked, turning to Yurei.

"No. Katsuki and I are classmates." Yurei responded stiffly.

"You're not Hana, by chance, are you?" Asahi asked.

_How the fuck does Katsuki's family know about Hana?_

"No, I'm Yurei Kasai. I'm going to be working with Katsuki over at H.T.S." Yurei said, and he gave an impressed nod.

"I've heard about you in the news. You and my nephew protected the students when the League of Villains attacked. You two were quite remarkable." Asahi commented.

"Thanks. We work well together." Yurei replied, and didn't feign friendliness with him in her tone. Whatever he did to Katsuki was bad, and she was getting a weird vibe from him.

"Would you like some candy, Izuku?" Asahi asked, turning to Deku.

"I'll never turn down free candy, but are you still carrying that around with you?" Deku asked casually. He seemed to really like Asahi.

"I always carry around candy, in case I run into my friends. I have enough for all of you." Asahi said, and after giving Deku a red lollipop, went to Ochaco and gave her one, too. When he got to Yurei, she shook her head. "It's impolite to refuse a gift from your elder, you know."

"I'm not into sweets." Yurei lied.

"Weren't you just on your way to the ice cream shop?" Asahi asked.

"I was getting ice cream for a friend. She's waiting for me, so I need to get going." Yurei said.

"Yeah, we should get going. Thanks for the candy, uncle Asahi." Deku said with an awkward bow.

"Thank you for the chat, Izuku. It was nice meeting you, Ochaco and Yurei." Asahi said with a slight bow.

Yurei hurried away, Katsuki close behind. They went ahead of Deku and Ochaco.

"Do you want me to use my quirk on you?" Yurei whispered to Katsuki.

"Not yet. Just get your damn ice cream." Katsuki whispered back. After they got inside, Katsuki purposely closed the door on Deku, bruising his arm.

"What was that about?" Ochaco asked, looking between them confused.

"What kind of old man hangs out outside of ice cream shops giving out candy? He gives off a creepy vibe." Yurei said tensely.

"I thought he was a little weird, too, but you were a bit rude. He didn't actually do anything wrong, and he seemed pretty nice." Ochaco said.

"He was always super nice to me when I hung out with Ka-chan, when we were little." Deku said.

"Will you shut your face, nerd?" Katsuki snapped at him.

Yurei looked between them, and wondered if her theory was right. _Is that why Katsuki hates him?_

"What is your problem?" Ochaco asked him.

"Fuck off, round face, this has nothing to do with you." Katsuki snapped at her.

"I've lost my appetite. How about we go for a walk on the beach, Katsuki?" Yurei suggested, stepping between him and Ochaco.

"Fine." Katsuki muttered, and turned towards the door, but froze.

Asahi was out there, giving candy to two little kids.

"Let's go out this other door." Yurei suggested, and took his hand.

He let himself be led back, his eyes locked onto his uncle, until Yurei finally turned him away.

15.

March 24th, Saturday, 1:00 PM

Yurei was good at calming him down even without her emotions quirk, and more importantly, kept his attention.

"AAAH! CRAB!" Yurei suddenly screamed, jumped on him, phased through him, and got all the way to his shoulders, while pointing wildly into the water. Katsuki tried to keep his balance, with the shifting sands under his feet and rolling water up to his waist, and looked around for what she was talking about.

… there was a tiny crab on the ocean floor.

"It's one tiny crab, idiot." Katsuki said, and then pushed her back, causing her to scream and splash as she fell into the water. As she breached the surface, she glared at him, and he couldn't help but laugh. Some of her hair had fallen out of the braid and stuck to her face.

She stood up, holding her arms, and then let out a short shriek as a wave came up, toppling her over again.

She was terrible in the water.

And _hilarious_.

She got up again, glaring at him, and then let out a shriek when she saw another tiny crab, and climbed on him again, kneeling on his shoulders. He tilted his head back, looking up at her, and saw her making the same face she makes when he suggests that she workout at the gym during the day.

"You're a wimp when it comes to water. You know that, right?" Katsuki asked her.

"Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnng" was his only response, a weird sound she made when presented with something that she didn't want to do.

The longer she made the noise was usually indicative of how close she was to actually giving up on something. There were a lot of things that she didn't want to do, and he could push her on, but there were some things she would simply say 'no' on and give up. With her phasing quirk, she could easily up and leave a situation whenever she wanted.

"Do you want to play volleyball for a little while?" Katsuki suggested, and her face shifted to a grin. "Fine, let's go play."

He shoved her off, and she screamed again, splashing as she fell into the water. Then, something stung his leg, and he winced at the pain. _Shit. Jellyfish?_ He looked around, and saw that there was a tentacle nearby.

That was going to start hurting soon.

He looked up, and saw Yurei gliding through the water to the sandy shore, and he started following her. Instead of going to the volleyball net, she ran over to her bag. When he got closer, he realized that she was pouring some kind of liquid over some red welts along her skin.

"Nnnnnnnnnnnng," She hummed angrily, pouring the liquid on her skin, and he realized that those were jellyfish stings.

… he dropped her on a jellyfish.

"Holy crap, what happened to you? WHAT DID YOU DO TO YUREI, BAKUGOU!?" Mina shouted angrily at him.

"She got stung by a jellyfish. I got stung, too." Katsuki said, and pointed to his leg. Pain was starting to shoot up and down his calf from where it had stung.

"What are you pouring on it? Can I have some?" Katsuki asked.

Yurei looked up at him, tears in her eyes, and nodded her head to her bag. "It's vinegar, there's more in my bag. It helps with stings."

"Yurei, it's all over your back, arms, and leg. You should go to the hospital." Mina said.

"Go grab the lifeguard, and we'll see what he thinks." Yurei instructed.

Mina got up, and started running over to the lifeguard.

Katsuki went over to her bag and pulled out a similar looking bottle to what she was using, went over to the sand to not pour it on the blanket, and started to douse the reddening welt. As he looked closer, he realized that part of the tentacle was still in his leg. He whispered, "Damn." and tried to pull it off, but it just hurt more.

16.

March 24th, Saturday, 3:00 PM

"I'm fine, mom. The doctors cleared me." Yurei and Katsuki were on the bus, going back to the dorms after going to the hospital. The treatment was quick and they sent them on their way within two hours.

Katsuki felt slightly guilty as he sat next to her, with only a bandage on his leg, while her entire arm, part of her back, and leg was bandaged.

"I was at the beach with some classmates, we were playing in the water, and I got stung. Katsuki got stung, too. He's with me right now." Yurei said into the phone, and sighed.

He could hear Yurei's mom complaining about how often Yurei was injured because of him. By the sounds of it, Yurei talked to her about the training they did.

"We're going to get food and relax when we get back. We won't do any training until the stings are healed. I promised the doctor that I wouldn't do any extreme activities for the next week or so, and I'll go back for a check up in a week." Yurei said.

"Don't you dare skip that appointment, Yurei." Yurei's mom replied.

"I won't."

"You need to get over your fear of them."

"That's not… I'm not going to have this conversation right now. I'm on the bus, and people are around. Love you, bye." Yurei said, and hung up. She sighed heavily, and looked out the window.

Katsuki thought back to earlier, when they ran into his uncle, and how she turned down the candy. He wondered how much she knew.

She glanced at him, as if reading his thoughts, and he tensed.

"The jellyfish thing wasn't your fault, you know. I mean it kind of was, because you literally threw me at it, but you didn't mean for me to get stung." Yurei said.

"Why did you react that way to my uncle, earlier?" Katsuki asked her. She blinked at him, pausing for several seconds, and he grit his teeth. "What the fuck do you know, Blue Hair Girl?"

"... I have suspicions, based on how you were feeling. You were terrified of him, and I'm sure you had good reason to be, so I kept my distance." Yurei said.

… _interesting. She considers the emotional reaction of others when she greets new people._

"I'm not going to tell anyone my theories. You can tell me the truth when you're ready. And if you choose not to tell me, that's okay, too." Yurei said.

He hated that look of pity in her eye.

He gripped his thigh.

"Why are you mad?" Yurei asked.

"I don't want your damn pity." Katsuki said in a low voice, not wanting to draw attention to them.

"That's not pity, that's empathy. I suspect that I've been in similar situations that you've been in before. Whatever happened doesn't make you any more or less of a person than you are now. No matter what, you're still the asshole that threw me at a jellyfish and lies about how many reps I have left." Yurei said, and he grunted, looking away.

Somehow, for some reason, her dumb words made him feel better. He felt her hand on his, and he looked down, just as she intertwined their fingers and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Idiot." Katsuki muttered, and caressed the back of her thumb with his own. He rested the side of his head against hers, relaxing against her, and started to feel himself unwind.

17.

March 24th, Saturday, 6:00 PM

Katsuki growled as his dumb car started to swerve again.

Hanta was in the lead at first place, Katsuki at second, Eijirou at third, and Mashirao at fourth.

"Die, die, die," Katsuki muttered angrily as he started to catch up to Hanta. He managed to get a speed token, to zoom ahead, almost to the finish line, and then one more turn-

Katsuki's eyes widened in horror. He accidentally fell off the ledge.

"NO! NO! NO! GET BACK UP YOU STUPID ASSHOLE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Katsuki shouted at the top of his lungs.

Hanta came in first place.

Eijirou second.

When he finally got the fuck back up, he zoomed to the finish line, but it was already too late.

"BULLSHIT! THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT!" Katsuki yelled.

"Ha haa," Eijirou smirked, and turned on the floor, facing him. "Suck it."

Katsuki pounced on him, wrestling him into a headlock, and then froze when he heard familiar laughter. Eijirou used that to his advantage, trying to get out of it, but Katsuki quickly got him back into a headlock, smirking victoriously.

"What about Hanta?" Mina asked Yurei by the entryway.

"Nah." Yurei replied.

"Mineta?"

They both started to laugh.

"I give, I give, Kats," Eijirou said, and Katsuki looked down, realizing that Eijirou was trying to tap out. Katsuki released his grip, and went back to his spot, picking up his controller.

There was a collective pause as Katsuki went to pick his next driver and car, and he realized that no one else was doing it. He looked around, and realized that the guys were staring at him.

"What?" Katsuki asked.

"... you seem… calm, all of a sudden." Mashirao said.

"I'm going to win this time. Pick your damn cars." Katsuki told them.

"... did seeing Yurei instantly calm your temper tantrum?" Eijirou asked.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Pick your fucking characters or I'll pick them for you." Katsuki snapped at him.

"So Yurei is like a chill pill for you, huh?" Mashirao asked.

Katsuki shoved him off of the couch.

"That's so weird." Hanta commented. They were still staring at him, but after a few seconds of him glaring, they started to pick their cars out and go back to playing.

Katsuki was much more focused this time around.

He was determined to win.

18.

March 24th, Saturday, 6:45 PM

Yurei grunted as she sat on the empty couch with Mina. Yurei's legs were on her lap, and she was looking through some papers that she'd gotten from the office the other day.

Internship offers. She had a lot.

Her dad was supportive of the idea of her doing internships at other locations, not just H.T.S. He also had a lot of opinions about which ones were best for her. Ideally, she'd like to do an internship with Katsuki again, but she didn't get an offer for the place he was going. She got offers from over twenty different agencies, but not his.

They would be spending a lot less time together this term, which would be weird. Even their class schedule would be different; they had no classes together on Tuesday and Thursday.

"You are being so weird, Katsuki." Mashirou said over on the other couch, and Yurei glanced up just as Katsuki shoved Mashirao onto the floor.

"What the fuck are you guys whining about? You're worse than Blue Hair Girl on leg day." Katsuki muttered, and she sent him a glare.

_Maybe it'll be a good thing to have some time apart._

"He's just trying to impress Yurei over there." Hanta added with a grin, which was a mistake, since he was in kicking range. Hanta cried in pain at the resulting kick in the head.

Katsuki did seem pretty calm, but he'd been calming down a lot the last two weeks.

"Are you PMSing or something, Bakugou? Because you've been up and down so much lately. One minute you're trying to murder us, the next, you're all quiet and shit." Eijirou said.

She could sense Katsuki's hurt and sadness at their words. Something did seem off about him that day, though. She'd initially thought it was because of the texts last night, but he'd joked about that when they were on the bus. Something else must have happened.

"Either play the damn game OR I WILL END YOUR LIFE! PICK A DAMN CAR!" Katsuki screamed at him.

"He's back." Hanta said.

The other guys seemed to relax as Katsuki went back to his regular violent outbursts.

_Guys are so weird. Maybe that's why he's been so calm lately; because he hasn't been around their dumb asses all the time._

"You're so lucky, Yurei," Mina said, getting her attention. "You've got dozens of offers, and I only have three."

"They're going to do another scouting event pretty soon, aren't they?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah, but who are we kidding? They're not going to notice me. I only got this because of my cousin, and then the other two for my gender." Mina said as she looked through her measly three offers.

"They don't seem that bad, though. The girls one kind of looks fun. I was considering the all women ones." Yurei said.

"Eh? Really?" Mina asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Plus, I would prefer if I went to an internship with a friend. H.T.S. was a lot more fun with Katsuki, and then the Orion one sucked until he joined that, too." Yurei said.

"Why don't you do another one with him?" Mina asked.

"I didn't get an offer for the place he's working at this term. Plus, working with you sounds like a lot of fun. Which agencies did you get offers for?" Yurei asked, happy to see Mina cheer up so quickly. Yurei looked at the names for the two all women hero agencies, and then looked at her own offers from them.

It was a little awkward when she saw the difference in payment. Yurei's publicity was going to be making her bank.

"It lasts five weeks, and it's on the weekends." Yurei read as she looked at her offers for the two agencies. One of them was called Siren, and while the other wasn't exclusively female, it was known for being mostly women. "Pay is decent. I'd get more if we went to Siren."

"Yay!" Mina cheered.

"What do you know about them?" Yurei asked.

"Nothing!" Mina cheered.

"Let's look up some info on them." Yurei suggested, and pulled them up on her phone. The first few images that popped up made her blush.

The description of the agency was much more tame, but as she looked at their website, she became less and less impressed. Instead of cool women empowering women stuff, it was stereotypical women stuff. It felt like a guy made the website that bordered on porn. Mini skirts, butt shots, cleavage, pretty hair, etc.

"... let's look at the other one." Yurei suggested, and she looked up Mermaid Heel.

As she skimmed their site, she was more impressed. They had classes for teaching self defense for women, provided protection for various establishments, commonly worked with law enforcement, and other things. They were pretty typical for a hero agency.

Not nearly as much pay as the other one, but… it looked to be better quality. Apparently they did a lot of community projects; help the homeless, youth mentorship, other similar projects.

"Mermaid Heel seems really cool." Yurei commented.

"Siren has a pool, though, and their costumes are pretty." Mina said.

"Siren looks slutty and dumb. The other one has a cool community outreach thing. They seem a lot more practical, and would be better to help you get better internships." Yurei said, and Mina made a face, still looking at the Siren site.

"But their costumes look so cool at Siren." Mina said.

"We don't have to work at the same place." Yurei said, and Mina kept making that face. "We can also ask around and see if anyone else has worked at these places, and get their input."

"But Siren looks so cool." Mina said.

"When I searched for them, Mina, pictures of their asses showed up." Yurei said.

"Yeah, and their asses look great." Mina said, and Yurei rolled her eyes. _Back to the beginning._

"If you weren't dating Eijirou, I'd think you were gayest person I've ever met." Yurei said.

"Am I the most bisexual person you've ever met?" Mina asked with a grin.

"... yeah." Yurei said, not wanting to say that her mom was the most bisexual person she knew.

"Woot! Bisexual pride!" Mina cheered triumphantly and punched the air. "Wait, are you bisexual?"

"I think I'm pan." Yurei said.

"What does that mean?" Mina asked.

"I'm attracted to people despite gender. So like, people that identify as third gender, trans, whatever, I'll be attracted to them if I like their personality. I like people for them, not just their gender." Yurei explained.

"Oh! That's cool! I think I'm just bi, but I haven't met anyone like the trans people, so I don't know!" Mina said.

"You're attracted to trans people?" Momo asked as she passed by, just entering the dorms. Hana and Toru were with her.

"I'm attracted to people regardless of their gender, and that includes people under the trans umbrella." Yurei clarified.

"So you like hermaphrodites?" Hana asked with a disgusted face.

"I think people are beautiful regardless of their genitals. I've met trans and intersex people ten times prettier than you." Yurei said, and Hana's face turned bright red. Hana's face scrunched up in disgust, but then she looked over, and smirked over at the boys.

"Hey, Katsuki? I had a really fun time the other night." Hana said, and Yurei watched as Katsuki tensed. She could feel his panic and unease.

"Have a nice night, hermaphrodite fucker." Hana said, and walked off, swaying her hips.

"How is one person so insane?" Mina asked once the group was gone.

"I don't know. She's been bugging Katsuki a lot lately, though. She seems to really bother him." Yurei said, and felt bad for it. Katsuki didn't need more things to stress him out.

_He also needs to go to the nurse and get something to help him fucking sleep._

"I don't mind if you sleep with hermaphrowhatevers. You're my best friend and I think it's cool that you identify as pan." Mina said with a smile. Yurei grinned happily, and looked back down at her phone.

She'd never had a best friend other than Ikari.

"Oh my god, these people are hot! I'm pan, too!" Mira said, and Yurei glanced over, seeing that Mina had looked up 'hot trans people' on her phone. "Eiji! I'm a pan!"

"Pansexual is the full word." Yurei told her.

"Are you still attracted to me?" Eijirou asked distractedly, still focused on his game.

"Of course!" Mina replied.

"Then cool. You do you. Don't fuck other people while we're dating. Damn it, Katsuki!" Eijirou yelled.

Mina giggled madly and went back to looking up pictures of attractive trans people.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** Everyone stay safe! As always, thank you for the faves, follows, and reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_Secrets_

March 25th, Sunday, 1:45 AM

Late that night, Katsuki couldn't sleep, as usual, so he went on a walk. His head was buzzing with dumb thoughts, heart occasionally raced for no reason, and skin felt grotesque from the near constant sweating. Three showers a day wasn't enough, lately, especially with his quirk.

Walking sometimes cleared his head a little, but that night, it didn't really help. He kept thinking about Hana's roaming hands, and how he'd felt helpless to stop her. He hated feeling helpless.

If he wasn't so tired, he'd start jogging, but he didn't want to accidentally pass out somewhere. Last time he started jogging with his mindset, he ran until he passed out, and woke up half an hour later in the soccer field.

The cloudy skies threatened to pour, but hadn't yet. Once the water starts to fall, he'd head inside.

As he walked near the dorms, he heard a rustling in the bushes, and stopped. Over in the bushes, near the women's side of the dorms, he saw the faint light of someone's phone.

_Someone creeping on the girls?_

… _a good excuse to beat someone up._ Katsuki had learned that if he was violent towards people threatening to harass women, he generally got away with it more. Teachers were lenient if he was "teaching his peers to treat women with respect."

At least, that's how Recovery Girl put it. She was overall pretty nice to him, despite how many people he put in the infirmary.

Katsuki was quiet as he moved from the path, moving closer, and got close enough to look over their shoulder. His heart leaped to his throat. His eyes widened.

They were pictures of a girl, naked, who was clearly sleeping, and he recognized who they were of. Katsuki kicked them in the head, and the phone fell from their hand as they stood to run. Katsuki grabbed the phone and put it in his pocket, and then ran after the asshole.

Whoever the fuck they were, they were fast, and he lost them in the chase. After running around for a while, he doubled back, and cursed.

_Fucking pervert._

He wanted to rip them apart.

"Damn it." He muttered again, and pulled out the phone.

They were pictures of Yurei, and some of them looked a few years old. Some of them had that asshole's face, Ikari, in there. Katsuki did a little searching on the phone, and found that it was hooked up to his cloud. The idiot also had all his passwords saved, so he could get into everything.

Katsuki got started deleting the photos, and thinking of ways to mess with him. Once all of the photos were deleted, he started searching for back ups, and found them hidden in some folders.

So, he just deleted everything. All his photos. All his class assignments. All his everything.

He downloaded the sketchiest shit he could find to his cloud, so that when he opens up his laptop, the viruses will get onto there. He went to the asshole's social media, and liked all the nastiest shit he could find. He kept an ear out as he worked, in case the guy came back for his phone. He hoped he would come back so that he could kick his ass.

As he came across the guy's private messages to other people, he grimaced, disgusted by what he found. That guy was into some nasty shit. Like, rapey shit. He had chats about gang raping other girls, and exchanged photos with guys of those girls when they weren't paying attention.

_Why the fuck isn't this guy in prison?_ Katsuki wondered, and then froze. … _what did he do to Blue Hair Girl when she was sleeping?_

A chill ran down his spine.

He wanted to hunt this guy down and murder him.

… _that blood in her bedroom…._ He'd wondered why he had stabbed her there.

_He didn't stab her._

Ikari was friends with his mother on Facebook. He had a sister, too. Katsuki started tagging them in the grossest conversations, and started walking over to the security building. Hopefully law enforcement could do something about it.

On his way, he used Ikari's card to buy thousands of dollars worth of crap online, including a bunch of things with the words "I'm a piece of shit!" on them. He made sure to purchase from places that wouldn't offer refunds or returns.

1.

March 25th, Sunday, 6:00 AM

Yurei groaned, unable to get back to sleep. Katsuki had gotten her used to waking up early.

She got up, grunting and groaning as she got her jacket and slippers on, and went downstairs to get her morning coffee. The jellyfish stings still hurt, sending pain through her with every movement.

Yurei paused when she reached the kitchen, slightly surprised to see Katsuki there. He looked like shit.

"Hey." Yurei said greeted.

He didn't make eye contact with her, and something about his emotions felt different than usual. _When is he not being weird, though?_

"Another rough night?" Yurei asked.

"... yeah." Katsuki replied, focusing on making eggs.

"Maybe we can head over to Recovery Girl at nine to see about getting you some sleep meds." Yurei suggested as she went over the coffee maker, and started the process. As she got the water, she looked over at him again. He avoided eye contact with her.

"You okay?" Yurei asked.

"I'm fine." Katsuki muttered.

"You seem a little… different this morning." Yurei commented.

He didn't respond.

She poured the water into the machine, got a new filter, coffee grounds, and pressed the "Go!" button.

"Ikari was outside your window last night. He ran off before I could kill him." Katsuki said in a low voice, and she froze in place. "He dropped his phone. He had a lot of pictures of you, so I deleted them. I deleted everything on his cloud. All his files, folders- everything. I even managed to get into his backup one, and deleted everything on that. Then I gave it to security. There was a lot of rapey shit on there. Hopefully that shit head goes to prison."

Yurei gripped the table for support. She'd thought that Ikari would be too scared to come back.

_How many nights has he been out there? Does Katsuki know, now?_

"When you said rapey shit… what do you mean?" Yurei asked.

"There were a bunch of open chats about gang raping girls. I tagged his mom and sister in all of them, and then handed it over to security. I also charged $5,000 to his account for a bunch of things with the words 'I'm a piece of shit' on them." Katsuki said, and she smiled.

Her chest hurt, and her head felt fuzzy, trying to absorb all of that.

"Since I deleted the photos of you, that means that they won't be able to prosecute him for those, but that also means that a bunch of guys you don't know won't be looking at pictures of you, and then be stored forever in the government database under 'evidence.'" Katsuki explained.

… he learned that from research into H.T.S.

"Was that the right call?" Katsuki asked.

"... yeah." Yurei nodded. She felt like pin needles were poking her along the inside of her skull and hands.

Ikari got so close to her. He could have been outside on her balcony, for all she knew.

Watching her.

"If I ever see him on campus again, he's dead." Katsuki added.

… Yurei was too stunned to reply. Her head felt numb.

"And you… saw the photos?" Yurei asked.

"Only to delete them." Katsuki replied. She bit the inside of her cheek and tasted blood.

"His $200 comforter saying 'I'm a piece of shit' should arrive at his home tomorrow. Non-returnable." Katsuki added.

… she wanted to laugh about that.

"The coffee is done." Katsuki said.

… he saw the photos.

He said that Ikari had been in rapey chat threads, which meant that there were pictures of her circulating the internet. People she didn't know were seeing her unconscious, vulnerable, and violated.

"... you okay?" Katsuki asked.

"No." She replied.

Her body felt numb. She felt like her world was crashing around her. It was bad enough with her mom… that was her body, her choice, all of that- but Yurei never got a choice.

"... I can make some extra eggs for you, if you want." Katsuki offered.

"Not hungry." Yurei replied.

"... if I held your hand, would that make you feel better?" Katsuki asked.

… _this morning is filled with surprises._

"You think holding my hand will make this less shitty?" Yurei asked.

"... it makes things feel less shitty when you do it."

… _that would be so cute in literally any other situation._

"... I appreciate the gesture, but there are naked pictures of me online. Creeps from potentially all over the world are staring at me right now. Holding my hand is not going to help." Yurei said.

She really did not want to yell at him. She really did not want to cry in front of him.

"How can I help?" Katsuki asked.

"You can't." Yurei replied.

She didn't know what to do. She was screwed. Her life was over. There was no recovering from that.

"... would yelling at me help?" Katsuki asked.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

"It's what I do when I'm upset." Katsuki said.

"I don't yell."

"You yell at me."

"Because you yell at me."

"What would make you feel better?"

"Nothing, Katsuki. Nothing is going to make me feel better." Yurei told him. Nothing could make this better.

She was jolted from her thoughts in a shove, and she looked up at him in surprise. He was coming at her, so she shoved him back.

"Punch me." Katsuki said.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

"Pretend like I'm Ikari." He said, and when he stepped forward again, she moved without thinking. Her knuckles collided with his cheek. He barely moved, as if it had been nothing more than a light poke.

"We need to work on your punching skills." Katsuki said.

She punched him again. This time, she hit his nose, and a small amount of blood dripped down. She thought back to seeing Ikari bleeding on the ground.

Her fist hit his chest. She hit him again. She kept hitting him, unable to think any more, and eventually crumbled into his arms.

2.

March 25th, Sunday, 9:00 AM

Mirio was surprised and concerned when he got the text from Katsuki.

When he got to the dorms, Katsuki let him in. One of his cheeks looked slightly bruised, there were bags under his eyes, and his skin looked a bit more ashen than usual. He looked like garbage.

"What happened to you?" Mirio asked.

"Don't worry about it. Blue Hair Girl is hiding in her room crying. I found Ikari outside the dorms last night, and now she's freaking out." Katsuki explained, and Mirio's eyes widened.

"What did he do?" Mirio asked.

"Nothing. I chased the shit head off." Katsuki answered, and Mirio let out a sigh of relief. "She's freaked out, though, and she locked herself in her room."

"You did good in calling me." Mirio said, and went for the stairs, jogging up them. He went to Yurei's room, and knocked.

"Yu Yu, I'm going to come in, okay?" Mirio asked, and then poked his head inside. He didn't see her, and the lights were out. He came back out, turning to Katsuki.

"You sure she's in there?" Mirio asked.

"Yeah. I hear her crying sometimes." Katsuki said. Mirio walked into her room, looked around, and then heard sniffles from the closet.

"Yu Yu, your little friend called me." Mirio said in a calm, soothing voice. He crouched down next to the closet, and sat down. "He told me about Ikari."

He didn't hear anything for a moment.

Then, sniffles.

"Great way to start the term." Mirio joked.

No response.

3.

March 25th, Sunday, 10:00 AM

Katsuki told Mirio to call or text if he needed anything, or if Yurei needed anything. He was anxious, and had no idea what the fuck to do. He walked around campus, keeping an eye out for that psycho. He checked in with Security, to see what they were going to do about the asshole.

Since Katsuki didn't see his face, and security cameras didn't catch his face, either, the police couldn't charge him for violating anything. They passed the phone along to the police to investigate into the chatrooms, but ultimately, Security doubted that anything would be done.

If he'd known that they would do jack shit, he would have kept it and charged more shit to his dumb card.

Made posts on his social media outing him for the pig he was.

As he stomped around campus, some people were startled by his appearance. _… maybe seeing Recovery Girl about the dumb sleep meds will make her feel better._ _I'll talk to her, go get food, and then bring lunch to Yurei and Mirio._

4.

March 25th, Sunday, 12:00 PM

When he got to Yurei's room, he was surprised to see that her door was open and the light on. Mina, Eijirou, Mirio, Deku, Ochaco, and Tsu were inside, talking to her.

"It'll be okay, Yurei. We're all here for you." Ochaco said.

"No. It won't." Yurei replied from the closet.

"... I brought some food." Katsuki said, getting their attention. "I only brought enough for Mirio, Blue Hair Girl, and I. The rest of you can get your own shit."

"I don't think she needs to get yelled at right now, Bakugou." Ochaco said, and then gave a small shriek when he sent a glare her way.

"Thank you for lunch, Bakugou." Mirio said to Katsuki.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted. He took out one of the boxes, checked the label, and handed it to him. Then, went over to the closet, and crouched down with another box. "I got you some lunch, loser."

"I'm not hungry." Yurei replied.

"I don't care. Reach your hand through the door and take it." Katsuki snapped at her. Her hand appeared in front of him, and he put the box in her hand. She took hold, and phased it into the closet with her.

"I wish I could do that. You have so much more control over your quirk." Mirio complained.

"Oi, you need chopsticks too, loser. Stick your hand out again." Katsuki snapped. He heard a grunt from the other side of the door, and her hand came out again. He put the chopsticks in her hand, and lingered slightly as their hands touched.

She grabbed the chopsticks, and the hand quickly disappeared behind the door.

"Yurei told us about what you did last night… about the photos." Mirio whispered to him. Katsuki ignored him, getting out his own box, and started to eat the noodle dish. "Thank you." Mirio added.

"Whatever. You eating, Blue Hair Girl?" Katsuki asked.

"I told you that I'm not hungry." Yurei replied.

"And I told you that I don't care. Fucking eat." Katsuki told her.

"Maybe you should be a little nicer, Ka-chan." Deku said, and Katsuki turned, narrowing his eyes at him. Deku stilled, gulping down the lump in his throat, and inched towards Ochaco.

"Classes start tomorrow, Blue Hair Girl. There's going to be a lot of sparring and weight lifting." Katsuki said.

"... so?" Yurei muttered.

"You'll get to show off all the training you've been doing for the last few weeks. I haven't been teaching you shit for you to slack off." Katsuki told her.

"You'll get to throw me again, Yurei!" Mina said excitedly behind him.

Yurei didn't say anything else. Katsuki took another bite of his food.

"We're all here for you, Yurei. Whatever you need, we're here for you." Deku said, and Katsuki rolled his eyes. Katsuki stood up, opening the closet partway, and caused everyone behind him to yell at him. He slipped inside, closing the door behind him, and tried to make sense of all the crap in there.

… there were a lot of clothes hanging.

"Why the fuck are there clothes in here?" Katsuki asked.

"... it's a closet, moron." Yurei muttered in a low voice. He roughly shoved the clothes around, trying to make sense of where things were, and his eyes slowly adjusted.

"You're going to get food all over my clothes, asshole." Yurei told him.

"You're the asshole hiding in a fucking closet."

"Fuck off."

If she wanted him out, it would be pretty easy for her to kick him out with her quirk. One of the things he'd learned from her quirk is that she rarely used it to its full potential.

Katsuki grunted and crouched down, trying to keep the clothes out of his food, and reached around to find her. He found one of her legs, which jerked when he made contact.

"She kicked me out when I tried to do that." Mina whined from outside. Katsuki cursed as he accidentally knelt on a shoe, and tried to push things around to sit down next to her, but she had too much crap in here.

"Why the hell is there so much shit in here?" Katsuki asked.

"It's a closet, asshole." Yurei replied.

"You're a fucking hoarder. My closet doesn't have near as much shit." Katsuki replied, and ended up sitting near her, with his legs over hers, and next to a large box. Shoes surrounded him, some of them pointy heels that could stab him, and random small shit that hurt his hands when he put weight on them.

Yurei was wedged between two large boxes, which made sitting next to her impossible.

"Fucking hoarder." Katsuki muttered under his breath, and then shoved some of her dresses away, so that he could eat his damn food.

"My mom got me new stuff when I transferred here. Everything else reminded me of Ikari." Yurei said in a low voice.

"He's a creep that can go fuck himself." Katsuki told her.

"What's the point in anything?" Yurei asked, and Katsuki could see everyone leaning in from outside. There were slats in the fucking door.

"Would you assholes fuck off?" Katsuki snapped at them, and they leaned away.

"... we could do a lunch break." Mina said.

"Let's do that. We'll do a lunch break and then come back in a little while. Text us if you need anything." Mirio said.

The group seemed hesitant to leave, but slowly, they made their way out of the room. They even closed the door behind them.

"I hated having so many people here." Yurei said.

"Did you tell them to leave?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah. They were afraid that I would be suicidal."

Katsuki paused as he took a bite of his noodles. _I shouldn't have told her about the pictures. She didn't need to know about them._

"How do you deal with it?" Yurei asked.

"With what?" He asked, going back to eating.

"Your uncle did something to you, and it sounds like he knows things about your life, which means that he's in touch with your family. I'm guessing that he did something to you pretty young. Every family gathering, you have to see and put up with him. That sounds like a nightmare." Yurei said.

He felt a swell of feelings in his chest, but he tried to push them down. He didn't want anyone to know about that.

"That girl, Kagura… Momentum had me talk to her because she was raped, like me. Now she's spouting shit all over the internet and shit, and she's telling people that I inspired her. I don't want to be associated with that shit. I don't want to be known as the rape victim. I don't want pictures of me being raped on the fucking internet. That shit never goes away. Once something gets on the internet, it's never gone." Yurei continued.

"... I never apologize, and I always win." Katsuki said.

"What?" Yurei asked.

"That's how I cope with it. I don't let people screw me over, I always win, and I don't apologize. My mom made me apologize to him, and it's the biggest regret of my life." Katsuki said, and went back to eating.

A deafening silence followed, and anxiety built in his chest the longer she didn't say anything.

"Can I ask what he did?" Yurei asked.

He opened the door, checking the room. They were alone. The door slid to a close.

"... I traded candy for sucking him off. If you repeat that, I will end you." Katsuki said quickly.

"How old were you?" Yurei asked.

"I dunno. Three. Four. It went on for a while before I found out what was going on. I didn't fully understand until I was a teenager. When dad found out, he was disgusted. My mom thought I was a pervert, and blamed it on me." Katsuki explained.

"You have shitty parents. Your uncle is a monster." Yurei said.

… weirdly, that made him feel better. Lighter, even.

Yurei was suicidal and still helping other people through their shit.

"Did telling you that help at all?" Katsuki asked.

"... yeah." Yurei said.

"Are you eating the fucking food?" Katsuki asked.

"I can't see shit in here, nonetheless actually eat." Yurei told him.

"Well, if you didn't have so much shit in here, you'd be able to see." Katsuki said, and then pulled his phone out, and pulled up his flashlight app. He shifted awkwardly, moving to straddle her legs, and cursed as the dumb dresses kept getting in his way.

He set the flashlight on the top of one of the boxes, letting it shine light on them, and then kneeled on her legs and his heels, careful to not put too much pressure on her.

In the light, her face wasn't flattering. Her cheeks were red, eyes bloodshot, and hair a mess. Nonetheless, she started to open the food box on her lap, picked up her chopsticks, and started to eat.

"I went to Recovery Girl, by the way." Katsuki said.

"You did?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I got some sleep meds to try out tonight. Downside is that they might make me a bit groggy for tomorrow's early class."

5.

March 26th, Monday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, Yurei showed up to training class, bright and early. Instead of meeting two times a week, they would be meeting three times a week this term.

She sipped her coffee in the lounge area of the small class gym, which was the second floor of the old PE building. There was a padded area for hand-to-hand sparring, a weight lifting area, and then a normal gym area with two basketball courts. There was a small lounge area, with multiple cushioned chairs and couches. Yurei quietly sipped her coffee as her classmates similarly yawned and groaned about having to get up so early.

She sat on the couch next to Mina, who complained with the other girls about the training they'd do this term. They would be focusing more on building muscle and quirk strength.

"Good morning, my youthful students!" All Might greeted, shifting to his big form. "I hope you are ready to start off the new term! This term we will be focusing on muscle building, strengthening your quirks, and hand-to-hand combat. In the second half of the term, we'll delve into common weapons. We're going to get each of you trained on how to safely use a firearm, should you ever be in the position of needing to use one."

Some excited whispers came from her classmates.

"I know that some of you have been worried about the strength building portion, but don't worry! Everyone has to start somewhere, and there's no shame in that. Just do your best, consistently train to work harder, and you'll get better.

"Next week, as you may or may not know, will be our second UA Sports Festival of the year, where we will broadcast our students' skills. This will be like the first competition, but the challenges will be slightly different. For anyone who didn't do well at the first competition, this will give you an opportunity to make up for that, and show everyone what you have learned. You may even get summer internships this way." All Might announced.

Yurei kept sipping her coffee, and debated asking All Might to let her skip the competition.

She didn't want her face out there anymore; she just wanted to keep her head down and focus on school.

"For this term, most of this class will consist of rotating between stations. Ten minutes at weight lifting, ten minutes at sparring, ten at the different stations set up in the gymnasium." All Might continued, and went into more detail. It wasn't that different from what Katsuki made her do for the last few weeks.

Since she was still recovering from the jellyfish stings, and the stings hurt like hell, All Might let her sit out for the exercising portion. Since Katsuki also got stung, he was allowed to take it easy, but of course, didn't.

As everyone else worked, Yurei sat in the lounge, sipping her coffee. Once everyone was going, All Might joined her, sitting near her.

"I heard about Ikari showing up on campus the other night. Are you okay?" All Might asked. He'd shifted to his smaller form, making him look much smaller and sickly looking.

"Yeah. Katsuki was the one that scared him off." Yurei answered.

"Katsuki? Again?" All Might asked in surprise.

"He's had really bad insomnia for a while now. He was walking around at night when he saw him." Yurei answered, and then remembered the competition. "Is it possible for me to sit out the competition?"

"Are your jellyfish wounds that bad?" All Might asked.

"No, I just… don't want to be on TV." Yurei said awkwardly, and looked down at her coffee cup. It was almost empty, now.

"Do you still want to be a hero?" All Might asked.

"Yeah, I just… I don't want to be seen right now. I just want to focus on my classes." Yurei admitted.

"... well, the competition is going to be considered part of your grade for this class… but I can put together an alternative assignment for you. The competition will be a lot of exposure for you, though, and with how much positive publicity you've had recently, I really think you should compete. The news is fickle and you're going to lose that publicity in time. You should make use of it while you can." All Might explained.

Yurei pondered that idea.

More publicity means more money. No matter what agencies she chose, they would offer her more if the public liked her.

"Also, consider, that even though you won't be allowed to wear full costumes, you can wear a mask. If you're just concerned about your face being out there, you can wear something under the uniform. Heroes wear costumes for other people just as much as they wear it for themselves. We can even introduce you as your hero name, rather than just your regular name." All Might added.

… she would feel better if she had a costume.

"Just let me know if you want to do that, and I'll let the other teachers know." All Might said, and she nodded.

"I want to do that." Yurei said.

"So you'll compete?" All Might asked.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded.

"That's great. I'm so glad you'll be competing. Make sure to let some of your competitors have the spotlight, okay? Some of your classmates really need the publicity." All Might requested.

"Alright." Yurei said with a nod.

"I look forward to seeing what you've learned while you've been at UA. You be sure to show off too, okay?" All Might showed her.

"Alright."

6.

March 26th, Monday, 7:30 AM

"So you're going to wear a mask the entire time?" Mina asked her.

"Yeah… I'm thinking of doing a different design than my current costume. I don't want any skin exposed." Yurei explained.

"Because of the pictures thing?" Mina asked, and she tensed.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded.

"... well, whatever makes you feel better, I fully support." Mina said.

"Thanks." Yurei said. She considered different hero designs in her head, and thought about how they'd look with the school uniform over it.

_Something simple for this. All of Japan will be watching, so it needs to look good._

"I might dye my hair again. I might do sky blue and gray." Yurei said.

"Why those colors?" Mina asked.

"They help me blend in a little more." Yurei answered.

"Oi, Blue Hair Girl." Katsuki spoke as he jogged up to them. Eijirou was close behind. "Will we be training tomorrow morning?"

"I think I need at least one more day. I don't want to aggravate my wounds so close to the festival." Yurei answered. Katsuki seemed slightly disappointed, but nodded in understanding. "Thanks to you I've been waking up ridiculously fucking early, though. We can still do an early breakfast."

"Why would I eat breakfast with a loser that doesn't train?" Katsuki asked.

"I don't care how you have to justify it in your dumb brain. Speaking of which, how'd you sleep?"

"Slept through the night." Katsuki shrugged.

"Good. How are you feeling?" Yurei asked.

"Fine."

"Why aren't you two dating? You're speaking couple language right now." Mina asked.

"Mina, leave them alone." Eijirou requested as he put an arm around her, and whispered something into her ear.

"I'm going to be wearing a mask for the competition." Yurei told Katsuki.

"Tch, why?" Katsuki asked.

"I don't want to show my face. All Might said I can do it as long as he approves the mask first." Yurei said.

"Everyone already knows your face, though." Katsuki pointed out.

"... I still think that a mask will make me feel more at ease." Yurei said.

Eijirou picked up Mina, and she squealed as he started running off with her.

7.

March 26th, Monday, 2:30 PM

Mina and Eijirou kept laughing and giggling. Eijirou was teaching her some wrestling moves in the commons, by the couches.

Katsuki tried to focus on his textbook for hero general studies, just wanting this done.

"Eiji! Am I doing this right?" Mina asked, and Katsuki glanced up. Whatever she was trying to do was completely wrong.

"... yeah, Mina, you're doing great!" Eijirou lied, and she cheered excitedly.

_Yurei isn't nearly as dumb when I'm teaching her grappling techniques._ Eijirou wouldn't put up with that bullshit technique from anyone else, so why her? Wasn't it doing her a disservice by encouraging bad technique? Mina was training to be a hero, too, afterall.

Katsuki had the brief mental image of Yurei wiping the floor with Mina in a grappling match. He chuckled, and went back to reading.

"Aah!" Mina squealed, and Katsuki glanced up again. Eijirou was over Mina, smirking down at her, and there was an intensity in their eyes. Some kind of weird connection, something he didn't quite understand, but they clearly did.

Then, Eijirou's hand moved, cupping Mina's butt, and Mina's smirk widened.

It didn't seem quite as… gross, as most intimate interactions were. They were both completely engrossed in each other, giving each other their utmost attention, and there was an underlying respect in the way they interacted. A brief mental image of Katsuki and Yurei doing that made him blush, and he went back to reading his book.

There were some days where he really wanted to touch her, but could only think of dumb excuses to do so. Stealing her fries. Shoving her. Tackling her. She was the only person he could touch without all the other nagging voices bouncing around his head.

He wished that he was normal, in that respect.

_I could just ask her out._

But that would freak her out, and his head was so messed up, he didn't want to inflict more of that on her. It was bad enough that he went to her for help sometimes.

"Is this a move?" Mina asked, straddling Eijirou's waist and looking down at him.

"Yeah, it's called the Sexy Mina move." Eijirou said, and Mina cackled in laughter.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, grateful that Yurei and him weren't like that.

8.

March 28th, Wednesday, 6:00 AM

By Wednesday, Yurei had her costume planned. Since it was only the base layer, the costume department would have it done by Friday at the latest.

She yawned, and then took the last sip of her coffee.

"We'll be doing hand to hand sparring today, and you'll be practicing it throughout the term, so don't worry about getting it perfect today." All Might announced. As people started pairing up, Yurei was surprised that Mina and Eijirou partnered up.

… most of the other girls had partners almost instantly. Girls usually paired with girls, and boys with boys, to avoid awkwardness. Yurei saw Hana make a beeline for Katsuki, giggling and smiling along the way.

As soon as Katsuki realized what she was doing, he practically ran over to Yurei, and told her that they were partnering up.

"Since we're going to be working so closely together in the coming weeks, I thought it would be good to spend time together." Hana said in a cutesy voice.

"Working together?" Yurei asked.

"We're going to be doing an internship together. Kind of like how you two did an internship last term but… closer." Hana said. Katsuki shuddered next to her, and she could feel his dread.

"Is that some kind of weird payback for the one sided rivalry you have with me, Hana? You think I like him so you start harassing Katsuki?" Yurei asked her.

"Not everything is about you, Kasai. You sound a little conceited right now." Hana said with a slight smirk.

"It looks like Mineta needs a partner. You two are close to the same size, so it works out." Yurei said, and Hana tensed, looking over at Mineta, who was about to have the best class ever.

"It looks like you and Mineta will be partners today, Bakugou. Everyone get ready." All Might said, and both Yurei and Hana's eyes widened as they turned to All Might. _Of course All Might isn't going to let Mineta pair up with a girl._

Hana and Yurei exchanged a death glare, and walked over to the edge of the group, making sure that they had enough space.

"Alright, today, we're going to work on the flying tiger. This is a very specific move for someone with a knife. Midoria, let me demonstrate on you." All Might said, and Deku walked up to him. He got Deku into the right stance, and gave him the fake knife.

Deku did as instructed and ran at him. All Might did a series of moves that resulted in Deku on his front, arm twisted behind his back, and knife safely a few feet away.

"This move is complex and a bit of a showy move to take down your opponent. This move involves some extra punches to the opponents rib cage and abdomen. I only recommend this if you're dealing with a stronger opponent that's giving you trouble, and if you can be fast enough to execute it. If you're too slow, it'll leave you open to attack." All Might explained.

Katsuki had already taught her that move. She had learned to be fast, since Katsuki kept jabbing her to make a point. He was not nice. She got a lot of bruises from that.

"One person will be the attacker, the other will be the defender. Work together to make sure that you get this right. Go slow at first, since the first few times can be prone to injuries. I'll demonstrate a few more times with Midoria." All Might instructed.

Hana was excited to get the fake knife. Even though it was plastic, if jammed hard enough in the right place, Yurei had no doubt that it would hurt.

They got back to their space. As All Might was about to demonstrate again, but slower, Hana charged at Yurei with the fake knife. Yurei side stepped and grabbed her wrist, punched her midsection several consecutive times, and followed through to slam her into the ground.

Hana gasped for breath on the matted floor, dumbstruck. Yurei's knee was in Hana's back, Hana's arm twisted a little more than necessary, and the knife was several feet away.

Everyone in the class was staring in surprise and shock.

"Did I do that right?" Yurei asked All Might.

"... yes, but for today, don't actually hit your opponent." All Might told her.

"Oh, okay." Yurei said with a smile, and got off of the crying girl. She walked over to the knife a few feet away, and kicked it closer to Hana.

Katsuki had them practice with real knives. She wasn't scared of Hana.

9.

March 28th, Wednesday, 6:30 AM

Katsuki still wished that Yurei and Mina had been paired up, but this was a good close second.

Yurei was brutal.

It was great. She kept getting called out on being too rough with Hana.

As Katsuki and Mineta went through the move again, Katsuki holding the knife, he got bored with Mineta moving so slow. He ripped his hand away, elbow jabbed him in the solar plex, and watched him gape like a fish on the ground.

"Bakugou, Kasai, stop hurting your sparring partners." All Might told them.

"Hana keeps running at me with the knife. If I don't do the move right, she jabs be with it." Yurei explained.

"Hana, you're not supposed to actually stab your classmate." All Might told her.

"I wasn't!" Hana yelled with a pout.

"Fucking liar. Give me the knife so that we can switch roles." Yurei told her.

"No! You'll stab me with it!" Hana yelled.

"Hana, give Yurei the knife." All Might told her.

Mineta was still crying and gasping for breath, so Katsuki watched Yurei and Hana switch roles. Yurei moved slowly, letting Hana try and move at a slow pace. Hana was focusing intensely on the move, trying to get it right with the teacher watching.

Then, Hana cried out in alarm and fell over.

"Hey! You pushed me!" Hana accused.

"She was doing a hip check. If your feet hadn't been so narrow, you wouldn't have fallen over." All Might explained, and Hana's face turned completely red. "Try it again, but keep your center of gravity low."

This time, when she tried it again, she still toppled over.

Mineta finally got up, so Katsuki went after him with the knife again, and Mineta screamed and ran.

"I'm so glad I didn't pair up with Yurei today. She's been working with Katsuki a little too much." Mina said next to Eijirou.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki asked.

"She's acting like you right now." Mina said.

"You trained her really well, though. That technique is pretty good for just a month." Eijirou complimented.

"Of course it is." Katsuki said, and rolled his eyes at how painfully slow Hana was to go through the move. Katsuki looked back to Mineta, who cowered at the mere sight of him. With a sadistic grin, he lunged at him, and Mineta ran to hide behind Mashirao.

_Idiot._

"Good! Good! Now, do that a few more times." All Might said, and then went over to Deku and Tenya to answer a question. As soon as All Might looked away, Hana landed a punch to Yurei's abdomen.

Yurei switched to a different move, with resulted in slamming Hana to the ground on her back.

"Stick to the fucking rules. I'm not going to be your punching bag." Yurei said.

"Kasai and Mineta, switch." All Might said, finally caving. Katsuki held back a smirk, as Yurei made her way over to him.

"Have fun?" Katsuki asked.

"Surprisingly, yeah." Yurei replied in a low voice.

Now, Katsuki could actually practice. He lunged at her with the knife, and she started to do the move. He struggled against her, not acting like a dumb practice dummy, and she managed to wrangle him to the ground as the move required.

Then, they switched.

He was a bit more graceful as he took her down. Even though she had improved over the last few weeks, he was still stronger.

As he kneeled over her, with her arm twisted, his mind flashed back to seeing Mina and Eijirou "wrestling." Quickly, he let go of Yurei to stand up, and she got up, too.

"How do you not scream and run when Katsuki charges you like that?" Mina asked Yurei, and he glared.

"He's not that scary with a fake knife. When we train, he sometimes brings a real one." Yurei told them, and Eijirou gaped in alarm.

"Are you serious!? You practice with real weapons?!" Eijirou asked.

"It helps." Yurei shrugged.

"Bakugou!" Eijirou shouted at him, and Katsuki shrugged indifferently.

10.

March 28th, Wednesday, 12:30 PM

"You were so scary in class this morning, Yurei!" Mina cried out as they ate lunch at the dorms.

"I did train with Katsuki." Yurei shrugged, and popped another sushi roll into her mouth.

"How do you train with a hot guy so much and not try to bone him?" Mina asked.

"I think it's the other way around, Mina." Eijirou told her.

"I don't care! Clits are like tiny penises, anyway." Mina said with a roll of her eyes, and then looked to Yurei for an answer to her question.

"I try not to think about that kind of thing when we're training." Yurei said awkwardly.

"Do you think Katsuki is cute?" Eijirou asked.

"I'm not blind. Katsuki is gorgeous. He doesn't want to date anyone, though, and I'm not going to push him." Yurei said.

"Push him, push him, push him," Mina chanted excitedly.

"When Katsuki gets pushed, he blows stuff up. Don't push him." Eijirou said.

"Imagine how much calmer he would be if he got laid, though. Maybe he's screaming and upset all the time because he needs to get laid." Mina suggested.

"Katsuki needs therapy, not sex." Yurei said in a low voice, and Eijirou nodded in agreement.

11.

March 28th, Wednesday, 2:30 PM

A couple hours later, Mina caught Katsuki right before his pre-workout walk. She smiled and greeted him, unsurprised at the annoyed grunt in response.

"Mind if I walk with you?" Mina asked.

"Why?" Katsuki asked with an indifferent glare. He didn't take out his earbuds.

"I wanted to chat with you. One on one. You're best friends with my boyfriend and best friend, so I feel like I need to get to know you more." Mina explained as they walked.

"Why?" Katsuki repeated.

"... do you like Yurei?" Mina asked, deciding to be direct.

"Fuck off." Katsuki grunted.

"Becaaause she likes you." Mina said. He briefly glanced at her, giving away his interest, and looked back at the path.

"You two seem to really get along. So why not ask her out?" Mina asked.

"Because fuck off." Katsuki replied, and flipped her off.

"Hmph! I'm glad you two aren't dating!" Mina told him, putting her hands on her hips and stopping.

12.

March 29th, Thursday, 6:00 AM

When she got to the main entrance the following morning, Yurei was surprised to find Katsuki half asleep and leaning against the wall. "You ready?" Yurei asked.

He blinked tiredly at her.

"For once you're the tired one. Can we work on more grappling today? I really liked kicking Hana's ass yesterday." Yurei requested.

"Sure." He grumbled.

"Will you be okay? Is it the sleep meds?" Yurei asked, and he nodded.

"I took extra last night." Katsuki said.

"Looks like it may have been a little overkill." Yurei commented, and he nodded tiredly. "Do you want to go back to bed?"

"Fuck no." He grumbled.

As they made their way to the gym, she was a little worried about him. He did a lot of swaying, and she was ready to catch him if he fell. _Now that I'm excited about training, this happens._

Eventually they got to a secluded, padded area of the gym building, and got started. Even half asleep, he caught her off guard, and did a series of moves that ended up with her on her butt and her wrists pinned above her. She wasn't very good at fighting when she was more awake, and apparently was even worse than Katsuki when he was half asleep.

… it didn't feel very… secure, though.

Her legs were free, and he didn't feel stable above her. He sat on her, and not in the usual way, either. All of this just felt off.

He leaned down, eyes half lidded, and looked at her neck.

"... Katsuki?" Yurei asked.

… then she felt it.

Her cheeks heated up as something hard pressed against her stomach, and eyes went wide. She double checked that no one else was in the room.

Katsuki didn't seem like his normal self, emotions wise. She would liken it more to a lofty dream state. His nose trailed along her neck, sending warm air across her sensitive skin.

Tingles spread through her at the sensation. He felt so warm, so strong, so-

"Katsuki, you know you're awake, right? You're not dreaming." Yurei asked him.

"Of course it's a dream." Katsuki mumbled against her neck, and his hardening length probed against her stomach. She felt incredibly awkward and turned on, both concerned about his current state and wanting to let him keep going.

"This is reality. You're awake." Yurei said, and then pinched part of his hand. He looked up at his hand, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, and then his eyes went wide in horror.

He immediately jumped off of her, accidently kicking her in the process, and sprinted out of the room.

_The one time I was actually excited to train._ She sat up, frazzled from the strange encounter, and then wondered, _is that what he usually dreams about?_

13.

March 30th, Friday, 6:00 AM

Yurei was nervous when she got to class the next day.

Katsuki was there. She already finished her coffee, so she didn't have anything to distract herself with.

All Might was telling everyone to get into pairs, and panic rose in her chest. Katsuki had been adamantly avoiding her since yesterday.

_I'll die if I'm paired with him._

"Mina, please, be my partner today." Yurei begged her.

"But I wanted to pair up with Eiji today." Mina said.

"Please pair up with me." Yurei pleaded.

"Why? Do you not want to pair up with Katsuki?" Mina asked, and Yurei's face turned red. "What happened? Did he kiss you?"

"No, but things are awkward. Please be my partner today." Yurei pleaded again, wanting to cry from embarrassment.

"Tell me what happened. Tell me, tell me, tell me," Mina chanted excitedly.

"I'm already embarrassed. Katsuki's embarrassed. Please don't make me tell you." Yurei pleaded.

"Either tell me or I'll assume it's whatever I'm imagining right now." Mina told her, and Yurei frowned, her shoulders falling. They went to one of the stations in the gymnasium, away from everyone else.

"Katsuki's sleep meds were really strong. When we started to train yesterday morning… he thought he was still asleep." Yurei said awkwardly in a low voice.

Mina gasped.

"When we went to spar he sat on me, but… he had…." Yurei trailed off, and Mina's eyes went wide as her hand flew to her mouth.

"Eiji said that sometimes happens in wrestling, but they just walk it off." Mina whispered.

"That wasn't a wrestling move." Yurei said with a shake of her head.

14.

March 30th, Friday, 6:10 AM

Katsuki wondered if it was possible to die from embarrassment.

"Why's your face all red, Katsuki?" Eijirou asked.

"Shut up." Katsuki snapped.

15.

April 2nd, Monday, 11:00 AM

Katsuki was still avoiding her.

Yurei stood with her fellow classmates in the center of the stadium.

People were cheering for their class; all of the first years were in the center, while all their friends, families, and other spectators, were in the stadium cheering.

Yurei was in a silver and gray mask that covered her entire head, and then the same fabric covered the rest of her body. Wearing a skin tight suit beneath her blue and white clothes was strange, but at least the fabric didn't bunch up too weird.

There was a hole in the back of her mask for her ponytail. She dyed her hair a mix of sky blue and grey, to match cement and the sky. The colors would allow her to blend into her surroundings more. Her hair was braided in a fishtail braid that went down her back.

Katsuki went up to the small stage.

She remembered the speech he made for the fall term.

He didn't disappoint.

"I'M GOING TO BEAT ALL OF YOU ASSHOLES!" Katsuki shouted at them. No one seemed particularly shocked by the announcement, but there were a lot of face palms and curses muttered.

Yurei smiled behind her mask.

_Weirdo._ She missed spending time with him.

She heard from Eijirou that he'd been training particularly hard this weekend, and was ready for a fight.

Yurei was, too.

16.

April 2nd, Monday, 12:00 PM

Yurei passed the first two rounds without much problem.

When the one-on-one combat came up, in the same style as fall term, she was a little surprised that Tenya was chosen to fight her. They faced each other on the field.

"I'm going to fight you with everything I have, Yurei! I expect you to do the same!" Tenya yelled at her.

Yurei shrugged. He nearly fell over.

"Right now we have the Ghost, Yurei Kasai, fighting against Tenya Iida! Iida comes from a long line of heroes and made it to the third round in fall term's competition. Yurei Kasai doesn't have a long family history of heroes, but she has been in the news the last few months for saving the lives of over thirty people in the H.T.S. which included her own father! She's wearing a mask right now, but she's also on the school website's front page with Katsuki Bakugou, looking adorable!"

Yurei's face heated up in horror, and she could hear Katsuki yelling in the stands.

_They put that on the front page of the website? Why?_

Tenya suddenly moved, running towards her at full speed. Normally, she'd let him go right through her, but she wanted to test something out. Katsuki training with her and her sparring with Hana made her a bit more bold.

As Tenya ran at her, she side-stepped him, grabbed his shoulder and back, and used her quirk and his momentum to change his direction, adding more push, and sent him flying in another direction. The momentum caused her to twist and fall to the ground, and she phased, so that she didn't hurt herself.

She looked up, and saw that Tenya went flying all the way to the wall of the stadium.

_Shit! I didn't know he would go that far!_

"Wow, what a hit! The elusive Ghost took a direct approach this round! With her ability to phase through objects and knock people out with a single touch, I'm surprised she went for such a bold move! She's proving that she doesn't need to rely on phasing through hits, she can make them, too!"

Tenya fell to the ground, groaning, and she let out a sigh of relief. She stood up, and looked around.

"This Ghost wins this round!"

People started to cheer, and went back to her class in the bleachers, where they congratulated her on the win.

"I didn't think that you could throw people so far, Yurei!" Mina told her.

"Is that what you and Katsuki were working on in your secret training sessions?" Eijirou asked, and Katsuki glared daggers at him.

"Not exactly. I was trying out something new out there. It worked a little better than I expected." Yurei said awkwardly. "I had actually planned to draw out the match a little more, but… well, the move worked a little better than I'd planned. I thought it would throw him off balance, not throw him into the wall." Yurei explained.

"Yurei is super strong!" Mina cheered in a silly way.

As the matches progressed, she sat with her classmates and watched. Katsuki was one of the matches, unsurprisingly. He was set to go against Mezo.

Mezo put up a good fight, but Katsuki won in the end.

Then, it was Hana against Fumikage. And… she miraculously won with her "ghosts", which possessed objects from her hair and shot blasts at him. The light from the blasts were a major advantage against the light sensitive quirk.

Her win meant that Yurei and Hana would be fighting each other.

17.

April 2nd, Monday, 12:30 PM

When they went to break, Yurei hurried to the food stands for food, and still ended up being the fifteenth person in line. To her surprise, the person who stood behind her, was the number one hero: Endeavor. He had a strange vibe to him, a strangeness similar to Katsuki. A twisted sense of guilt and hatred and she couldn't make make heads or tails of.

"I was impressed by your performance out there, Ghost." Endeavor said behind her. She turned, looking up at his massive, hulking form.

Heat radiated from him as fire shot from various parts of his body.

"I look forward to seeing you fight my son." Endeavor said with a creepy look on his face.

"Last time we fought, I won. He did put up a good fight, though." Yurei said, and turned back to face the food vendor.

"Have you considered the internship my agency offered?" Endeavor asked.

"I decided to take an internship this term that's closer to school. I might consider bigger agencies this summer, though." Yurei said.

"People with two quirks are rare. Does that run in your family, by chance?" Endeavor asked her.

"... nope." Yurei answered.

"How many siblings do you have?" Endeavor asked.

"None of your business." Yurei said, and was relieved to finally get to the counter to order food.

18.

April 2nd, Monday, 1:00 PM

After a quick meal, Yurei stood on the platform across from Hana, whose hair was curled and cutesy pink. Her make up emphasized her young features, and she giggled and smiled like a child. Everything about her was perfectly done, not a hair out of place or smudge of make up.

"I'm not going to hold back, Yu Yu!" Hana said in a childish voice.

"Neither will I." Yurei said, and felt a tremor of fear from Hana.

Yurei caught on that Hana was doing something to Katsuki, and had set up the internship with him through their parents. She was hurting him, and she was guessing that he couldn't fight back at risk of getting in trouble.

She remembered seeing Ikari's face, bloody and raw.

Yurei imagined Hana's face, that perfect make up smudged and smeared, with that same blood and gore.

"Hana Kojo is facing off against the Ghost, Yurei Kasai! They are known to be rivals in their classes! Hana Kojo comes from a family of law enforcement and has the ability to create ghost like creatures! She may look cute, but she's deadly! Yurei Kasai has the ability to phase through anything and manipulate emotions; we haven't seen her break a sweat all day! Will this be a quick match, or will Hana take her down?"

"Do you see us as rivals, Hana?" Yurei asked her curiously.

"Of course we are! Ever since I met you in second grade, I've wanted to try my hardest and win against you!" Hana said, posing as she pointed at her. There were a lot of 'aaw's in the audience.

"That's cute, but I don't see perverts who hurt others from a pointless vendetta as my rivals; I see them as people to crush." Yurei told her, and there was an awkward murmur in the audience.

Hana glared. Instead of arguing, she sent her ghosts after her gray masked opponent, possessing small objects from her hair, and started shooting at her. Yurei simply stood there, untouched, and started walking towards her.

Hana kept trying to hit her with those blasts.

Yurei kept walking, unhindered. Hana started to get nervous.

"I'll go easy on you, Hana. I won't use my emotions quirk on you this time." Yurei said, and then glided to her fast, startling her.

Yurei punched her in the face, hard, causing her to fall to the ground. She couldn't keep shooting at her without risk of shooting herself. Yurei knelt down, and as Hana started to get up, she punched her again.

"Get up and fight me. That's what you want, right?" Yurei asked as she stood up.

Hana was crying, but glared up at her through the tears. Yurei took a step back, letting Hana get up again.

"I-" Before Hana could speak again, Yurei punched her hard in the stomach, kneed her in the face, and then shoved her to the ground.

There was another round of "ooh"s from the audience. Hana was curled up on the ground.

"This match seems to be personal! The Ghost seems to be drawing out the fight! Kojo doesn't stand a chance!"

"You claim to be my rival, but then you lay on the ground like that? Instead of fighting me, instead of confronting me about your goddamn issues, you're dancing around me like a stupid toddler and attacking the people I care about. If you're pissed at me, Hana, fucking fight me! Stop fucking around, wasting your life on dumb shit! You have an amazing quirk and you're wasting it!" Yurei told her, and Hana finally got up, and ran at her.

Yurei easily side-stepped her. Hana turned, running at her again, but Yurei hit her in the solar plex, hard enough to knock the wind out of her.

Hana fell to the ground, gasping for breath, bleeding, and crying.

"If I recall, Ghost has been training with Katsuki Bakugou recently- that training is showing!" The announcer yelled.

"I'll consider that a compliment." Yurei said.

Hana charged at her again. Yurei started with the move from class, punching her multiple times in the abdomen, but then swung her around, and smashed her into the ground.

There were "ooh"s from the audience again.

"When is this fight going to end? I can barely watch it! That adorable little girl is getting pummeled!"

"That's a good question. When is this going to end, Hana? Because I'm getting pretty bored." Yurei told her.

"You… you think you're better than me?" Hana laughed, and vomited a little, trembling.

"You have an amazing quirk, Hana, and instead of using it to help people, you stalk them. You're not even going after the right fucking person- Ikari is the asshole that rejected you." Yurei told her.

"Only because you made him!" Hana yelled at her, and started to get up again.

"I didn't make him do shit. He's a psychopath that rapes people. If you had dated him, you would probably be dead right now." Yurei said, and Hana screamed as she charged at her again. Yurei side-stepped her, and knocked her off balance.

Hana managed to not fall. She turned, going after her again with a feral scream.

"This might be the most brutal fight that I've seen on this stage!"

Yurei grabbed her throat, stopping her in her tracks. Hana hit her, trying to break free, but Yurei wouldn't let go of her. Not yet.

She used her quirk to make her calm. Hana went limp.

Then, she brought her closer.

"You are not my rival. I am not your enemy. Ikari is a shit bag and you are more than welcome to go after him. Fuck him for all I care. Stop annoying me." Yurei said, and then dropped her to the ground. Hana lay on the ground, gasping for breath, and Yurei released her quirk.

She grabbed her arm, dragged her to the edge of the platform, and tossed her off.

Hana fell down the steps, landing awkwardly.

"... I guess Ghost is the winner. I definitely don't want to get on her bad side."

19.

April 2nd, Monday, 1:20 PM

As she returned to her classmates, Katsuki was waiting in the hallway for her. Everyone else was watching the next fight.

"Shouldn't you be preparing for your fight?" Yurei asked.

"You did that to Hana because of what I did to Ikari, didn't you? To pay me back?" Katsuki asked.

"... partially." Yurei admitted.

"You probably lost a lot of internships that way. I didn't get almost any from the last competition because of how I won." Katsuki told her.

"That's okay." Yurei said.

"Don't go easy on me during our match. I won't be holding back." Katsuki said.

"That's assuming I win the next round." Yurei said.

"If you lose to Deku, I'll kick your fucking ass." Katsuki said, and pushed off from the wall, about to walk away.

"Hey… it's okay what happened, the other day." Yurei said.

His body stiffened, and face turned red as he looked away.

"If you thought that was a dream, though… do you usually have dreams like that?" Yurei asked, and he started walking away. She couldn't help herself.

She grinned behind her mask.

"What else happens in those dreams, Katsuki?"

"SHUT UP!" Katsuki yelled at her, and she started laughing.

20.

April 2nd, Monday, 1:30 PM

Yurei sighed as she made her way back to the locker room designated for her. She really didn't feel like fighting again, but she had to, especially after the last fight.

Like Katsuki pointed out, all the scouters watching would dock her points for that. Revenge was nice and all, but she really liked that internship money.

As she entered the room, she let out a tired sigh, and walked over to the bench. She started thinking about what she knew about Deku's style and quirk. Namely, Deku relied on speed and strategy, and would potentially be a threat to her. He no doubt had multiple plans to win against her in a fight, which meant that she couldn't waste time like her fast fight. As soon as they started, she needed to take him out.

Fighting fair (not just carelessly beating the shit out of him) would give her positive points. Fighting Katsuki would give her points. No matter what, he would be the bigger asshole between them, and that would work in her favor.

She let out a tired sigh, trying to relax, and rested her head against the locker behind her.

Deku might actually be a hard fight for her. He was strong, he knew her quirk, and he'd seen Katsuki fight her and almost win. He no doubt had some ideas on how to fight her.

She relaxed, focusing on her breathing, and tried to calm herself down. Her heart kept racing in her chest, and she tried not to think about the fight with Katsuki.

Pain suddenly erupted from her stomach, and she gasped in alarm.

There was someone in front of her.

There was blood pouring from her stomach.

The invisible person tried to stab her again, but she phased through them, and knocked them out with her quirk. She was bleeding a lot.

A lot of pain.

She left the room, phasing through the door, and stayed phased as she shook and trembled, trying to focus and figure out what to do.

She'd just been stabbed.

So much blood.

So much so much red liquid pooling on the ground below her.

Then, suddenly, there was a sword going through her. She turned, and saw someone dressed completely in black, holding a sword through her. Quickly, Yurei glided through the wall, through another empty room and hallway, and looked around, searching for someone she knew.

"Yurei?" Tsu spoke nearby, and she turned, seeing her, Ochaco, and Deku.

"I-I-I got stabbed, th-there was a n-ninja," Yurei stuttered.

21.

April 2nd, Monday, 1:50 PM

Katsuki was on the edge of his seat as he waited for the next match to start.

Deku vs. Yurei.

He was going to be pissed if Yurei lost.

"Who do you think is going to win, Katsuki? Who will you be rooting for?" Mina asked him.

"If Yurei loses, I'm kicking her ass." Katsuki stated.

"Shouldn't you be downstairs getting ready for your fight with Shouto?" Eijirou asked him.

"There's going to be a five minute break between matches. I have time." Katsuki said.

"Sorry folks, but because of an incident backstage, Deku will be moving to the final round. The next match will be Bakugou vs Todoroki in fifteen minutes! Sorry for the wait!" The announcer said, and Katsuki stilled.

"An incident?" Eijirou asked. Katsuki jumped out of his seat and ran down the hall, to the lower levels, to find someone to talk to. As he ran, he came across one of the locker rooms for contestants.

There was blood outside. Teachers were gathered together, and two random guys were on the ground, knocked out, in handcuffs. One of them was in jeans and a dumb t-shirt, the other was dressed in all black, like a ninja.

His entire body stilled, staring at the blood.

"Aizawa," Katsuki spoke, getting the teacher's attention.

"You're next up, you should be preparing to go." Aizawa said.

"Is Yurei okay? Where is she?" Katsuki asked.

"She's in the infirmary and getting care. She'll be fine, but you should get ready for your fight." Aizawa said, but after he said where Yurei was, he started running down the hallway again.

His heart thudded against his chest, and his legs wouldn't move fast enough. He ran past a group of people, and shoved them out of the way. Once he reached the infirmary, he looked around, and heard Yurei's moans of pain before he saw her.

There was a lot of blood on the floor, which led to a curtained off bed.

"Ka-chan," Deku spoke nearby, and Katsuki looked over, finding his rival covered in blood. His hands were shaking, and Ochaco and Tsu were near him, seeming similarly shaken.

"What the hell happened?" Katsuki asked.

"Someone attacked her. She just came out of the wall, bleeding, and said she was attacked by some ninja. Recovery Girl is treating her now." Deku explained.

"Why would someone do this?" Ochaco asked.

Katsuki saw a shit head in a ninja outfit. Those two assholes were the ones who attacked her.

He ran off, planning to kill them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note (when I posted this, 4/24/2020):** I hurt my wrist while updating a chapter for Walking Cliche (I didn't hurt it by posting it, just when I was rereading the chapter and adding a long author's note at the beginning, my wrist started to hurt a lot). But I just wanted to add some things to this new chapter:

Thank you everyone for the faves, follows, and reviews! It makes me so bubbly and happy to reread some of them for this story. :3

Be safe and stay inside! Wishing you all the best! 3 (I don't think fanfiction let's me do hearts, so it'll just appear as a '3', but know it was meant as a heart!)

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_Kissing In the Rain_

April 2nd, Monday, 3:00 PM

The back of Katsuki's head thudded against the concrete wall again.

He was pissed.

He was stuck.

He lost the tournament, indirectly forfeiting to half head. He didn't get to kill the bastards that attacked Yurei, since the teachers stopped him, and he had no idea how Yurei was doing, since he was stuck here.

He was starting this term fucking strong.

He hit his head again.

A door opened, and he stood up, walking to the cell door. All Might, in his small form, was there. Katsuki hated seeing that look in his eye, the one that showed he was pitying him, for one reason or another. He especially hated seeing All Might in his smaller form; Katsuki wasn't completely responsible for what happened, but he was partially. According to some, like his mother, he was the entire reason.

He still bared that guilt, despite what All Might and Deku told him.

"Are you calm enough for me to talk to you?" All Might asked. Normally he would think of Yurei to calm down, but everytime he tried to conjure a comforting mental image of her, he imagined her bleeding out on the floor or dead.

"Yes." Katsuki grit.

"The two men that attacked Kasai were affiliates of Ikari. The authorities started investigating them because of Ikari's phone, and they assumed that Kasai was responsible for handing it over to authorities." All Might explained.

Katsuki blinked at him, and then looked down, realizing what happened.

Yurei got stabbed because of him. They stabbed the wrong fucking person.

His breaths became ragged, and he thought about that blood again. His mind briefly went to that raid, when he saw that bullet go through that skull.

"Kasai was transferred to a nearby hospital. I think she could use a friend right now." All Might said.

"... who won?" Katsuki asked, randomly remembering the competition.

"Midoria."

… strangely, he didn't feel angry about that. His mind went back to the blood that he'd seen, and how terrified Deku had looked in the infirmary.

"Bakugou," All Might spoke, getting his attention again. "Go for a walk, and then go to the hospital to check on Kasai."

Katsuki slowly nodded, and All Might opened the cell door.

1.

April 2nd, Monday, 4:00 PM

_God, not again._

Yurei would rather be anywhere other than here. She was so tired of hospitals.

"Why did you attack that girl like that, Yurei? I raised you better than to cruelly beat up little girls like that." Her mother scolded.

"She's a terrible person, mom." Yurei argued.

"I don't care. Other people being cruel is not a reason for you to stoop to their level. I can't even look at you right now." Her mother said, and with the tissue in her hand, left the room. She slammed the door behind her.

"Your mother is just worried about you. You've been hurt a lot in the last year." Her father commented in a softer voice. Yurei let out a tired sigh, and winced from the pain.

"I'm glad that you're standing up for yourself, though. I can tell that your cousin has been inspiring you." Her father said, and Yurei nodded.

"You've gone through a lot, but you keep standing up, and I'm proud of you for that. I also heard about what you did for that girl, Kagura. You really inspire people, Yurei. You're going to be a great hero. No, you are a great hero." Her father said, and she looked down at her lap. "What's wrong?"

"... it's just… it's weird when people say that. When they thank me for things or say I'm great. It feels weird." Yurei admitted.

"You'll get used to it after a while. You're going to hear that a lot when you start working at H.T.S."

She smiled a little, but then remembered Katsuki's experience there.

"Um… speaking of which… when Katsuki and I were doing the internship, something happened to Katsuki. He's too macho to bring it up with Heimi, but something happened when they were together. Katsuki was really freaked out by it." Yurei said awkwardly.

"Oh?" He asked.

"Apparently he got a lap dance. Katsuki is really weird about anything sex related, especially if it involves him. He was really freaked out." Yurei explained.

"Oh… that sounds like something Heimi would do. I'll let him know to tone it down with him. Is Katsuki still planning to work with us?"

"I think so." Yurei nodded.

"He was very… animated, at the competition today." Her father commented.

"He can be pretty aggressive when he fights. He's had a bad week, I think, and he was venting today." Yurei said.

"Have you spent much time with him since the internship last term ended?"

"... a little. He threw me at a jellyfish the other weekend." Yurei said with a smile, then added, "he got stung, too."

"I haven't seen you smile like that in a while." Her father commented, and she looked away, focusing on her hand. "Be careful around him. I don't need to tell you that he has a temper."

"I've figured out a system with him, don't worry." Yurei assured.

"I don't want him to bully you or anything just because I want him at H.T.S. He's not worth losing a daughter over."

"Yurei!" Mina shouted from the doorway, and a plethora or her classmates came pouring in.

2.

April 2nd, Monday, 9:00 PM

Late that night, an hour before visiting hours were over, Katsuki came. No one else was there, everyone having already gone home for the night.

He had an awkward scowl as he went over to the seat next to her, leaned back, and put his feet up on the bed. He wore a pair of orange tinted skinny jeans with holes at the knees, and a dark green hoodie with the hood up. Parts of his pants and hoodie were darkened from the rain.

A dripping umbrella lay discarded at his side.

Immediately, his dark red eyes went to the phone on his lap, and he distracted himself with whatever was on the tiny screen.

Yurei looked out the window, behind him, at the pouring down rain outside. Water streamed down the window, thunder roared outside, and powerful winds made the trees move and sway. Everyone else had left to avoid getting caught in the storm, and she wondered if the timing of the storm was part of the reason for his late arrival.

Given his reluctance to speak, she wasn't entirely sure how to start a conversation with him. She knew that the competition meant a lot to him, and he hated losing at anything. Because of her, he lost.

She wrung her hands together, debating on how to go about talking to him. Her hands felt a little cold, probably from the bloodloss, and every once in a while, her stomach would twinge in pain. The nurses gave her enough pain meds to be lucid and only mildly in pain, and she had emphasized that she wanted the bare minimum.

_Maybe I'm building up a pain tolerance._ She wondered.

Technically, Ikari's injury was worse than getting stabbed, since he kept doing it over and over and over again. That was like… getting stabbed dozens of times, for each spike.

"I'm sorry about the competition. If I hadn't been so panicked about the blood, I maybe could have gotten bandaged up enough to fight. Probably not, but… I could have tried." Yurei told him.

"Don't fucking apologize, idiot." Katsuki snapped angrily, his dark red eyes peeking out from his sandy blond hair and hood. "It was my fucking fault you got stabbed. My fucking fault that the teachers wrestled me into the fucking cell, and I couldn't compete. Don't fucking apologize for getting stabbed."

Then, he looked back down at his phone, silent.

"... how is it your fault?" Yurei asked.

"They attacked you because of that asshole's phone. Apparently the police are actually using it to take motherfuckers down. They thought that you were the one that handed the phone over to authorities, not me." Katsuki explained, and she nodded in understanding.

"So does that mean that you'll apologize for getting me stabbed?" Yurei asked, and he grunted, not looking at her.

She didn't actually think he was at fault. The idea of him apologizing for something sounded hilarious, though.

"The people who stabbed me are at fault for stabbing me, not you. It's not your fault." Yurei assured him.

"You could have died." Katsuki said.

"I've had worse. I'm still glad that you caught Ikari and handed his phone over to authorities. The guys who attacked me will be getting jail time, and that'll probably be used as evidence to help take them down for whatever other crimes they committed." Yurei explained, and Katsuki grunted again. "Is there something else that you're upset about, or is that it?"

He grunted, and she had no idea what that meant.

"What?" She asked, and tilted her head to the side.

"Why the fuck do you seem so chipper?" Katsuki asked with a glare.

"Because you're here." Yurei said, and her grin widened as a blush appeared on his tan cheeks. He looked back down at his phone, his hair and hoodie hiding his eyes now, but she could still see the pink on his cheeks. She couldn't resist the urge to ask him about the dreams again. "Soooo what do you dream about?"

"I could just leave." Katsuki said.

"I got stabbed, you should be nicer to me." Yurei told him, and tried to mock pout, but she was smiling too much.

"Those drugs they gave you must be really strong." Katsuki commented.

"Ooh, I can say things and blame it on the drugs?" Yurei asked, and he snorted, his shoulders rising and falling. "You're cute when you smile."

He tried to hide his mouth with his hand. If she wasn't hooked up to so many things, she'd go over and move his hand out of the way.

"You really are drugged." Katsuki said.

"You should tell drugged Yurei fun things." Yurei insisted excitedly.

She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt so chipper. Most of her day had been dreary and boring, with all kinds of people coming and talking to her while she awkwardly tried to be considerate of them. She was tired of being in the hospital, tired of being injured, tired of people looking down on her and "sending her prayers."

"You act like Mina when you're drugged." Katsuki commented, still hiding his smile.

"Maybe Mina acts like drugged Yurei. Come on, tell me thiiiings. Tell me, tell me, tell me," Yurei chanted, imitating Mina, and Katsuki laughed again. She liked hearing him laugh and seeing him relax. "How did you spend your day, aside from the university jail cell?"

"... walking around and pissed, mostly." Katsuki admitted.

"Punch anyone on the way here?" Yurei asked.

"I hit Deku in the shoulder. After not being able to hit the ninja guy, I needed something to punch." Katsuki admitted.

"You know it was the invisible one that stabbed me, right?" Yurei asked.

"Invisible one?" He asked.

"Yeah. I was chilling in the locker room, when suddenly, an invisible person stabbed me. Freaked me the fuck out. I ran outside to the hallway where the ninja guy tried to stab me with a katana. It was so fucking weird to look down and see myself run through with a sword." Yurei explained.

His jaw tensed, and she could sense his anger about it.

"Maybe you could stay the night and keep me safe from any other evil doers." Yurei suggested, and his shoulders rose and fell in a silent laugh. "Are you planning to stay until visiting hours are over?"

"I dunno. When are they over?" Katsuki asked.

"At ten." Yurei said, and frowned slightly.

… even though she had joked about him staying, it did sound nice to have him watch over her. There were a lot of people after her, apparently. Stalking her. Stabbing her. Raping her. Ikari had probably planned to do it again, and apparently he had friends.

She couldn't eat chocolate anymore. Anytime she eats chocolate will run the risk of accidentally consuming that quirk canceling chocolate. She needed to cover her balcony door better, so people can't see in. She needed to create a security system. Maybe she could cover her balcony door with newspaper and bar the doors shut, so that she could only get in and out of her room with her quirk.

Yurei looked down at her hands, and reached for the nightstand, avoiding Katsuki's gaze as she tried to distract herself with her phone.

"What's wrong?" Katsuki asked.

She shrugged. He didn't feel like talking, so she wasn't going to open up if he didn't care.

"... did I say something wrong?" Katsuki asked.

"Don't worry about it." Yurei said, but she could feel his mood shift to worry and guilt. "I was just thinking about how many crazy assholes are after me. When I get back to the dorms, I might have Mirio stay with me for a few nights again. Sometimes when I'm afraid of being alone, he'll stay with me."

"Are you afraid of me leaving, or something?" Katsuki asked.

"No." Yurei lied, and pulled up videos of cute puppies.

"Hospitals have pretty good security. You're probably safer here than at the dorms." Katsuki said.

_Except that hospitals will sometimes let groups of people without medical degrees effectively gangrape women while they're unconscious from surgery. _She'd read too much into doctors that violate their patients. (If you want to know more about this very common and fucked up practice, look up "non-consensual pelvic exams". This is America and other "first world" countries, btw)

The stories just got worse when she researched intersex people. Doctors were monsters, and the medical field had a lot of bullshit practices at vulnerable patients' expense.

"You really don't like doctors, huh?" Katsuki said.

"Why do you say that?" Yurei asked.

"You get upset when they come up. I'm guessing that's what you're thinking about." Katsuki said.

"If I could, I wouldn't stay the night. I don't like hospitals." Yurei said stiffly.

"Why?" Katsuki asked.

"Because I don't. Why do you freak the fuck out when people kiss?" Yurei snapped, and immediately regretted her words. "I snapped. I'm sorry."

"You got stabbed, you don't have to apologize for shit." Katsuki told her.

She frowned, looking back down at her lap. She hated being here. It made her skin crawl. She wanted to leave, but she couldn't, and her mom would yell at her again.

"Maybe could you get me something? A soda? Something with caffeine." Yurei requested.

"Planning to stay up late?" Katsuki asked.

"... yeah." She admitted, and sighed again. "I kicked Hana's ass today, but I end up in the hospital. It's not fair."

"You did a good job with her." Katsuki said, with a hint of a smile.

Yurei smiled, looking back down at her hands, and heard him getting up to get her soda.

3.

April 3rd, Tuesday, 9:00 AM

Classes were canceled the next day. Rumor was, there were bomb threats or something.

Rain poured outside, and thunder rolled. Katsuki leaned against the back of the couch, staring at the rain, with his head in the usual mess. He stopped taking the sleeping meds, ever since the… incident.

He still hated himself for that, and kept thinking back to his childhood… to Asahi.

To Deku's dumb, excited face when Asahi came by. The little shit head probably knew and didn't say anything. He'd just happily take the fucking candy, free of charge, with that dumb fucking smile. _If he did tell anyone, I'd destroy him_.

Then, his mind drifted to Yurei in the hospital. That was his fault, and his chest surged in pain. The only person he cared remotely about was in the hospital because of him.

Everyone was right. He was an asshole, no better than a villain. As he stared out at the swaying trees and hurricane rain, he wondered if people would be better off without him. He couldn't think of a single person that wouldn't benefit from his disappearance.

He wanted the pain to end. For the dumb voices and memories to stop bouncing around in his head constantly. To finally rest, because he was so fucking tired.

"You're really worried about her, huh?" Someone asked nearby. He glanced in their direction, but then looked back to the window. "You must really like her." Mineta added.

"Fuck off." Katsuki told him.

"It's not bad to like someone. You two seem to have a connection." Mineta said. Katsuki sent him a scathing glare, which sent him running.

Katsuki let out a tired sigh, going back to the window. The grayness and thunderous roars fit his mood remarkably well. Despite it being nine in the morning, it felt like evening, for how dark it was.

"I miss Yurei, too. She's had such a terrible week. Once the storm calms down, I wanna go see her." Mina said on the couch behind him.

"You wanna come with us, Katsuki?" Eijirou asked.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so sad before, Katsuki." Mina commented.

"I'm not sad. Fuck off." Katsuki said, but there was no bite in his voice. He was just… tired. _With all this rain, I could step into traffic. They probably wouldn't see me until it was too late._

"Why don't we do something to take our mind off of things? Let's watch a movie, or something." Eijirou suggested. Katsuki pushed off from the couch, and ignored his classmates as he walked out the main doors, entering the rain. His entire body was soaked to the bone in seconds.

The water was warm, and winds pelted at his face, nearly knocking him over. He felt like a small ant in a hurricane, and a thrill of excitement entered him. Adrenaline coursed through his veins like heroine, burning his skin, and sent his heart racing.

He kept walking, enjoying the feel of such powerful forces, and revealed in how loud everything was. Over the powerful winds, he couldn't hear anything, not even the dumb voices or memories. For once, they all stopped.

For a while he walked, nearly falling over with each step. He ended up in the campus park; his feet planted into the ground and looked up into the dark gray clouds, watching as a flash of lightning momentarily lit the sky.

The rain was so thick and heavy, he felt like he was in a pool, slowly drowning. Or the ocean, quickly being carried away by the current.

Something warm touched his hand, and he looked down, shocked to see Yurei's bright hazel eyes staring up at him.

"You didn't have to meet me out here, idiot!" Yurei yelled above the storm.

"What are you doing out of the hospital?" Katsuki shouted.

"I'll tell you inside! Come on!" Yurei yelled, and tugged at his hand, but he didn't move.

"How did you find me out here?!" Katsuki yelled.

"... I recognized your brooding and angsty aura. Why are you so depressed?" Yurei yelled, and fell against him as she tried not to fall from the sudden gust of wind. He put his arms around her, stabilizing her, and looked down into her worried face.

He acted without thinking. He leaned down, kissing her on the lips, and relished in her heat. When he pulled away, he expected her to slap him, but she didn't.

Her hands snaked to the back of his neck, pulling him back to her wet lips. She deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to him, and he eagerly explored. He pressed her against him, feeling something ignite within his core, and gripped her as if she might vanish any second. Everything disappeared around them, and all he could focus on were those lush warm lips and warm breasts pressed against his chest.

Their tongues danced together, sliding and exploring, and the fabric of her shirt clung to the slim curve of her waist. Moving his hands lower, he gripped her cheeks, and she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He moaned into her mouth, feeling her core so close to his, and the sounds he made were lost in the storm.

As a large gust of wind rolled by, he stumbled slightly, but kept his hands moving along her soaked thighs, staying upright. He gripped her muscled thighs, growling at knowing he was the reason she had that muscle. Her nails scraped along his scalp, her fingers getting tangled in his messy hair.

Another roll of thunder came from above. Another flash of lightning.

She pulled away, and he pressed their foreheads together, looking into her beautiful eyes. Her face was flushed, her breathing hard, and her chest kept heaving against his own.

Another flash of lightning, and Yurei looked up, at the stormy clouds. He grounded himself further as the storm threatened to topple him over.

"Lets go inside, idiot." Yurei shouted at him.

He didn't want to leave the storm, but he could feel her trembling in his arms.

Reluctantly, he let her slide down his body to the ground, keeping her close.

3.

April 3rd, Tuesday, 9:20 AM

"You fucking moron." Yurei laughed as they got inside, carrying in buckets of water as they went. They were completely soaked, and dripped water all over the carpet.

"You're the fucking moron that broke out of the hospital in a storm." Katsuki snapped back.

"I didn't break out, I annoyed the staff until they let me leave." Yurei replied, unable to stop smiling.

"Yurei!" Mina cheered. Yurei looked over, seeing some of her classmates in the lounge together, smiling and beaming at her. Then, the lights flickered out.

"No! Uuuugh, now we can't watch a movie with you!" Mina groaned.

"I'm going to shower and change into dry clothes, anyway. I need to wring my hair out." Yurei said, not looking forward to the activity. She felt like a mop full of water.

4.

April 3rd, Tuesday, 10:30 AM

After a quick shower and change into dry clothes, Katsuki walked down to the lounge, carrying a textbook and notebook.

People were chatting with each other, giggling and conversing about the rain or classes, and Mina and Eijirou were nuzzling their noses together. Candles were lit, snacks dispersed, hot cocoa and blankets handed out.

Yurei wasn't among them.

Eijirou looked over at him, noticing his presence.

"Do you know if Blue Hair Girl has finished her shower?" Katsuki asked.

"I haven't seen her." Eijirou answered. Since the lounge was in view of the stairs to the girl's rooms, he probably would have seen her leave the shower.

"Yurei takes a while in the shower because of her hair- hey! That's the shirt I said you look sexy in! You never wear it!" Mina exclaimed while pointing at him.

Katsuki's eye twitched, and he fought the blush the threatened to tint his cheeks as the entire room stopped to look at him.

"Thanks for reminding me why I never wear it." Katsuki replied rigidly, and she simply grinned in response. As Mina ogled him, he rolled his eyes and plopped onto the couch, beginning to study.

He ignored the others as he attempted to read by candle light. The process was slow going, since the flames were few and kept flickering. Katsuki didn't bother watching the stairs, knowing that once Yurei emerged from the shower, Mina would start screaming her name like a crazed banshee.

A loud and exaggerated gasp came from his left, and glanced up, finding that Mina was gripping her chest, her eyes were wide, and looked as if someone had just slapped her.

"Sexy leggings! You're wearing the sexy leggings!" Mina shouted while pointing towards the staircase.

"I wanted to cheer you up. You seemed stressed yesterday." Yurei replied as she approached the couch. Mina's face lit up, as if Christmas had come early, and jumped up to hug Yurei.

"Ow, careful," Yurei winced, and Katsuki looked up in alarm. She was in a giant t-shirt with a candy brand on it, and then presumably her leggings underneath. There was a small towel on her shoulders, and long, wet hair cascaded down her back.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Mina said quickly.

"It's okay. Do you want to help me with my hair?" Yurei asked.

"YES." Mina said, and then pressed her foot against Katsuki's shoulder, trying to kick him off. "Go to the other couch!"

"No." Katsuki said, and watched as she attempted to push him off. She pushed, she kicked, she pulled. _How is a person training to be a hero so weak?_

"It's fine. I can squeeze in." Yurei said.

"Yurei gets stabbed and you won't even move over to make room for her." Mina accused.

"There's plenty of space." Katsuki pointed out.

Yurei came over, sitting directly next to him, and faced him. Mina had to lean against Eijirou in order to do Yurei's hair.

Yurei pulled out a comb, some kind of bottle, and then some kind of spray, and handed the items to Mina. The position made Yurei's knees press against his leg, and she flashed him a smile. He tried not to focus on the physical contact, and remained indifferent to her friendly gesture. Memories of their earlier kiss flooded back, but he was determined to not dwell on those thoughts, instead focusing on whatever Yurei and Mina were doing.

"This is why we're best friends." Mina said. She squirted some kind of white liquid onto her hand, and then started mixing it into the long locks of wet hair.

"Because I let you play with my hair?" Yurei asked.

"And you wear sexy leggings for me." Mina added.

Katsuki watched curiously as Mina worked, slowly palming the substance into Yurei's hair, and then started to comb, starting at the bottom.

"How often do you do that?" Eijirou asked as he moved, shifting to sit on the arm rest and face Mina's back. The shifting allowed Mina to have more room to work. Eijirou, like Katsuki, curiously watched the ritual, silently observing.

"Everyday." Yurei replied.

Katsuki never spent any time on his hair, and thusly couldn't imagine being as slow and meticulous as Mina was being right then. It looked maddening.

"Do you want to try it on your hair, Katsuki? It'll make your hair a lot softer." Yurei offered.

"That's girly shit." Katsuki said.

"Guys wear product, too, they just lie about it. Mirio uses hair products. I let him try my stuff once and he got hooked." Yurei told him.

"I'll try it." Eijirou volunteered.

"Cool! You and Katsuki trade places, and I'll do your hair." Yurei said, and smiled at Katsuki. "Can you please make room?"

"Whatever." Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes, and got up. He replaced Eijirou's spot, and narrowed his eyes slightly as he sat in front of Yurei with his back to her.

"What do I need to do?" Eijirou asked.

"Have you used Shampoo and conditioner today?" Yurei asked.

"I have an all-in-one thing that I used yesterday, and then some gel to style it." Eijirou said.

"Hmm… can you go wash out the gel? Once you do that, I can put in some fancy shampoo conditioner mix." Yurei said.

"Sure, be right back." Eijirou said with a grin, and hopped off, jogging over to the bathroom.

"If you make his hair soft like yours, I'll die in happiness." Mina whispered to Yurei, still working on her hair.

"I'll do my best." Yurei said.

"If he had hair like yours… man, we'd never leave the bedroom." Mina added, and at that, most of the guys in the room seemed to lean in a little closer.

"So, can I ask you girls a question?" Hanta inquired.

"Sure!" Mina chirped.

"Are girls attracted to hair like Yurei's?" Hanta asked.

"Most girls probably don't like it as long, but they definitely love when it's taken care of. Soft hair is nice to run your hands through. Everyone, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, can appreciate well maintained hair." Mina said, and Yurei suddenly laughed. "What?"

"Sorry, had the mental image of every single person in the dorms having beautiful, long, luscious hair, and our dorm being known for having beautiful hair. It would be pretty great." Yurei said.

"That would be better than being known for Bakugou blowing shit up and Deku breaking himself all the time." Hanta said, and Katsuki sent him a glare.

"Also, for having Mirio's cousin." Ochaco added.

"Eh? Do people really just know me as 'Mirio's cousin'?" Yurei asked.

"Well, yeah. Mirio is a legend at this school." Ochaco replied.

"I'm back!" Eijirou announced, his red hair flat against his scalp. He had a small towel around his shoulders, and plopped back in his previous spot, in front of Yurei.

"Cool." Yurei said, reached into her bag, and pulled out a small bottle. Before getting started, she brought the towel up and started roughly drying his hair. His hair ended up sticking up in every direction, and as Yurei added some kind of clear liquid, it just got more slick and messy. She palmed the stuff into his hair, pushing into his scalp, and Eijirou made a weird humming sound.

"That feels nice." Eijirou commented.

Katsuki was irked by that.

Once she was done with that, she started combing out his hair. Eijirou's head was tugged around as she combed, and the process seemed a lot less meticulous than how Mina was treating her longer hair.

"Ow, ow," Eijirou said.

"Sorry, I've got to get the tangles out. If you do this more often, though, it won't be as painful." Yurei said.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Eijirou said, and stopped complaining. After his hair was combed, she squirted something else into the palms of her hands, and started messing his hair up again. After a few minutes, she asked him to turn around and face her.

He did, and she continued messing with his hair and styling it. It didn't stick up as much as usual, but the red hair was oddly brighter than usual, looking much more vibrant than normal. Yurei started giving him advice on types of shampoo and conditioner to use, particularly ones that were kind to brightly colored hair, and types of gel that wouldn't damage his hair while bringing out the vibrancy of his hair color.

Most of the guys in the room were literally taking notes.

"I'm going to go look in the mirror." Eijirou said with a grin, and ran to the bathroom again. "Woah!"

"Thank you." Mina whispered to Yurei.

"You're welcome." Yurei replied.

Katsuki remembered her running her hands through his hair outside in the rain. Abruptly, he got up, and moved to his previous spot, this time, his back facing her.

"Do mine." Katsuki told her.

"Eh? Now you want me to do your hair?" Yurei asked behind him.

"You got a problem with that?" Katsuki asked, and gave her a side glance, giving her a challenging glare. She just grinned in turn.

"I've wanted to get my hands on your hair forever." Yurei said, and he knew by her tone that this was a mistake. Katsuki watched her warily, observing as she put some liquid into her hands again, brought her palms together, and then reached up to his head, beginning to knead his scalp.

She roughly turned his head forward again, and he grunted. "You are so fucking tall. Hunch over, or something."

"You could have him sit on the floor. It'll be pretty quick, right?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, his hair is pretty short." Yurei said, and started to shove him off the couch. He sent her another glare as he moved to the floor, shifting to face the rest of the room, and realized that almost everyone was watching them.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Katsuki snapped.

Katsuki tensed as her hands returned to his scalp, a little rough at first, but he started to enjoy the feeling. She pushed her fingertips and palms into his scalp, kneading and prodding, which felt surprisingly pleasant.

Slowly, he started to relax at the touch. The longer she worked, the more he felt himself melting into the floor. Her hands felt magical against his scalp, and he wondered why he'd never experienced this before. He closed his eyes, focusing on her hands, and slowly breathed in and out.

"She managed to calm Bakugou down. Maybe she's a beast whisperer, or something." Hanta whispered, and Katsuki opened one of his eyes to glare at him. He strangely didn't care as much as he should have, though.

His eyes drifted closed again, letting her work. The hands were soon replaced by a comb, untangled his messy hair, and he barely noticed the tugs and pulls, lulling him slowly to sleep.

"Hair's done. What do you guys think?" Yurei asked, and he slowly blinked awake.

"It looks pretty close to the same, just tamer." Ochaco admitted.

"It's super soft, now." Yurei said, and went back to petting his hair. A third hand joined, and Mina voiced confirmation that it was softer.

"Are you, like, a wizard?" Eijirou asked, touching his own hair and playing with it. He was touching it so much that it just went in random directions, now.

"Yurei: Hair Wizard Extraordinaire." Yurei said, and Katsuki tilted his head back, looking up at her.

He could see her a lot more clearly, now. She'd added a dash of small sparkles to her eyes, highlighting the green in them. As he looked up at her, her hands stayed in his hair, and she chuckled, staring back at him.

"Did you fall asleep while I was doing your hair?" Yurei asked.

"No." Katsuki grumbled, unable to hide the sleepiness in his voice.

"Why don't you take a nap? Since there's no classes today," Yurei said, but then paused, wincing. "Since there's no classes, you can catch up on sleep."

Mina suddenly started screaming, and he looked over in alarm, only to let out an annoyed grunt and glare. She was just excitedly playing with Eijirou's hair.

_How is she excited about everything? Is she part dog, or something?_ Katsuki wondered tiredly.

"Can I touch your hair, Eijirou?" Hanta requested.

"Sure!" Eijirou said, and went over to the other group, letting everyone pet his hair and marvel at how soft it was.

Yurei went back to petting Katsuki's hair, her fingertips and nails brushing along his scalp, and he slowly closed his eyes again. The motions lulled him to the core, calming every nerve in his body, and he completely relaxed.

"Are you using your quirk on me?" Katsuki asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Hmm?" Yurei hummed, and leaned closer.

"Are you using your quirk on me?" Katsuki repeated.

"Nope. This is all you. Are you sure that you don't want to go to bed, though?" Yurei asked.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted, facing forward again with his eyes closed. As she kept massaging his scalp, he slowly drifted off to sleep again.

5.

April 3rd, Tuesday, 11:00 AM

Yurei was surprised by how quickly he fell asleep. She leaned around him, trying to look at his face, and confirm that he'd fallen asleep.

A smile stretched across her face, and she kept petting his soft hair, watching the others animatedly react to Eijirou's hair. She answered their questions and recommended some brands.

"Is he asleep?" Mina asked, looking between her and Katsuki.

"He's had pretty bad insomnia. Apparently this is helping him sleep." Yurei said.

"He has insomnia?" Eijirou asked, and then nodded. "That makes sense. I was wondering why he's been looking so tired this term."

"Did you notice his sexy shirt?" Mina whispered.

"Is this the shirt?" Yurei asked, and Mina excitedly nodded. When she first saw him in the lounge, she'd thought that he looked particularly nice in it, but didn't want to say anything. It was a light green t-shirt that perfectly highlighted his slim figure, and she'd found it hard not to stare. Focusing on Mina doing her hair helped.

"It looks good, right?" Mina asked.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded, and tried to think of literally anything else while she petted his hair. Then, Katsuki's head suddenly fell back, causing her to jump, and his head landed on her calves. His mouth gaped open, drool pouring out, and took away any awkwardness she'd felt about his shirt.

"Damn, he's really knocked out." Ejirou commented.

"I'll get him to his room." Yurei said.

"Will you be able to carry him?" Eijirou asked.

"With my quirk, yeah." Yurei answered.

Carefully, she phased her and Katsuki, and glided them to his room. She navigated them over to his bed, and carefully set him down. He was snoring loudly, mouth gaping and drool dribbling down the side of his face.

She checked that his phone was with him, in his pocket, before leaving.

6.

April 3rd, Tuesday, 3:00 PM

A few hours later, as Yurei sat quietly with her classmates reading in the lounge, she got a text. She pulled out her phone, and realized that Katsuki had texted her.

_Stupid Face: Was I knocked out?_

_Me: You fell asleep while I was doing your hair. I took u back to ur room._

"What are you smiling about?" Mina asked, looking up from her book.

"Nothing." Yurei replied.

_Stupid Face: did anyone see?_

_Me: Ya. Everyone. They don't care, they're busy studying. I mentioned ur insomnia._

_Stupid Face: y tf would u tell them that?_

_Me: Because otherwise it looks like I knocked u out with a head massage._

"Are you texting Katsuki?" Mina asked with a knowing grin. "That's a Katsuki smile."

"Shut up." Yurei said, unable to not smile.

_Me: Do u want me 2 bring ur books to ur room? Do u want me to pet ur hair 2nite to help u sleep?_

_Stupid Face: Fuck off_

Yurei rolled her eyes.

"And that's the Katsuki eye roll." Mina said.

"I must do that a lot if there's a specific type of eyeroll for Katsuki." Yurei commented.

"Yeah." Mina nodded, and Yurei sent her a playful glare.

Mina smiled victoriously, her body doing a small, happy shimmy, and she went back to reading. Yurei yawned in her hand, feeling the tiredness of staying up so late the previous night. _I could sleep with Katsuki._

She returned her attention to her books, trying not to blush at the tantalizing idea.

7.

April 3rd, Tuesday, 9:00 PM

That night, Yurei decided to go to bed early, only to be woken up by a text. She groaned loudly, hating herself for needing to check her messages, and rolled over, reaching for her phone.

_Stupid Face: u awake?_

_Me… no._

Yurei let the phone fall back to the nightstand, intending to fall back asleep, but then heard a knock at the door.

_Let me sleep,_ Yurei thought angrily, and cursed angrily in her head as she phased out of bed and glided to the door.

She poked her head out, and came face to face with someone's chest. Tilting her head up, she realized that it was Katsuki. He was still in the flattering green shirt from earlier.

"Let me in." Katsuki told her.

"I was sleeping." Yurei said.

He gave her that "I-don't-give-a-shit" look, which he usually gave her on training mornings when she threatened to stay in bed instead of getting up. She grunted and grumbled, reaching forward to take his hand, and phased him inside. As soon as they were solid again, she felt a pair of lips on her own, confusing her sleepy mind.

… _we're doing that now?_

_Right, the rain._

After a few seconds he pulled away, and she felt his hands along the sides of her face, caressing her skin. His fingers delved into her hair, tangling themselves in her long locks, and he hummed in approval. She couldn't help but smile, and awkwardly put her hands on his hips.

She couldn't see him too well in the darkness, but he felt warm and toasty. Butterflies surged through her stomach, filling her with an anxious and excited feeling. He leaned down again, kissing her softly, and she smiled into the kiss.

She was so tired, though.

"This is nice, but I really am tired, though. I got stabbed yesterday, remember?" Yurei asked, and felt his guilt return. "How about we sleep together, though? Just sleep."

Yurei's cheeks heated up at the offer. In the dim light, she could see his lips quirk into a smirk.

"Just sleep?" Katsuki asked in a deep, husky voice. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire, her eyes wide in surprise. She tried to look down, but his hands were firm, keeping her facing him despite her embarrassment.

He leaned down, kissing her again, and whispered, "alright."

She took his hand, leading him to her bed. He took his shoes and socks off before climbing under the sheets with her, and as she drifted off to sleep again, she petted his soft hair again.

8.

April 4th, Wednesday, 6:00 AM

Yurei had to sit on the sidelines again.

She got injured a lot.

While the other students got started with their day, Yurei sat in the little lounge area at one of the couches, slowly sipping her coffee. Once everyone was going, All Might approached her, and sat on the other side of the couch.

"How are you feeling?" All Might asked.

"I'm good, all things considered." Yurei said.

"I know that Bakugou was beating himself up over what happened. Have you talked to him?" All Might asked.

"Yeah, we talked things out. He still blames himself, but… baby steps." Yurei said, and glanced in his direction in the gym. Katsuki wasn't yelling at anyone or causing a fuss, which was unusual for him. He seemed to be in a good mood that day, simply doing the required exercises with Eijirou and the others.

"I'm sorry that you lost the competition because of those men. It was the school's duty to protect you, and we failed." All Might said, and she returned her attention to him. She didn't realize just how guilty he felt until then.

"No, it's fine, I don't blame the school. I should have sensed the invisible guy. I was so stressed I just didn't notice him." Yurei said.

"This is a dangerous year for students at this school, and I hate that I can't do more to protect them. A lot of students have dropped, transferring to other schools…. It feels like you've suffered more than your fair share of being targeted, and seeing violence. Even though that's part of the job, most heroes don't experience that until later on, after more training. You've experienced a lot of trauma and injuries over the last year." All Might told her.

"Like you said, it's part of the job." Yurei shrugged, and sipped her coffee.

All Might slowly nodded. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. Are you doing an internship this term?"

"Yeah, I'm going to work at Mermaid Heel on the weekends. Based on my research, they seem pretty cool." Yurei said, and started explaining some of what she was interested in learning there.

"That'll help your resume, too, after your fight with Hana." All Might added, and she awkwardly agreed. "I was surprised by that fight. Well, not too surprised given the fight you two had last term, but… I was surprised that you made it so public."

"She's been harassing Katsuki." Yurei said, and All Might's eyebrows rose in surprise. "After what Katsuki did to Ikari, and his reluctance to speak up about it, I felt like it might help make her back off."

"So you attacked her like that to repay Bakugou for protecting you from Ikari?" All Might asked.

"... in a nutshell. It also just felt nice to get a little payback for her years of apparently stalking me and planning revenge." Yurei said, lowering her voice for the last part.

"After that fight between you two last term, I had her recommended for counseling. She's been going to sessions. I don't know how helpful they've been, but she is being watched. Heroes always pose the risk of becoming a villain, so we keep an eye out for students we think are at risk of it." All Might said, surprising her.

… she didn't realize that anything was being done about that.

"If you convince Bakugou to come forward about her harassing him, then I can speak to Hana's counselor about it. There's no need for you to make a spectacle of it." All Might said, and she smiled awkwardly.

_Maybe I am picking up bad habits from Katsuki._

"If you have problems with your classmates, we do have counselors to talk to, and they can act as a mediator or help you deal with other students in a constructive way. After all the trauma you've been through, a counselor might be beneficial to you." All Might suggested.

"I don't like most counselors. When I talk about stuff, I can feel what they're feeling, and it… doesn't help. Most of the time I end up counseling them, ironically. Katsuki and Mina help me, though. They're good listeners." Yurei said.

"Bakugou? A good listener?" All Might asked, and she chuckled.

"Yes and no. I don't know. At this point, I guess I'm tired of counselors and shoulders to cry on. I just want to focus on school." Yurei said, and All Might nodded in understanding.

"I can understand that. I've also noticed that you've started to become more… aggressive, in the recent months since joining UA. Is that because of Bakugou?" All Might asked.

Yurei thought back on her term here. She had grown more aggressive, but she was still in control. She didn't actually fight that much, outside of class and training with Katsuki. Aside from Hana, Tenya, and Katsuki, she hadn't hit anyone.

"Like you said, I've been targeted a lot recently. Katsuki has been helping me train and help me get physically stronger… and I guess I have been picking up some bad habits from him, but he's also been helping me deal with some of my issues in a new way, which is refreshing. I feel a lot more in control, now. I've also been helping him deal with his issues in better ways…. We're balancing each other out. We've also been working on using our quirks against powerful opponents in close combat situations, so that he can deal a lot of damage but not take any in a fight." Yurei explained.

All Might smiled while she talked, and she took another sip of her coffee.

"You two seem like a good pair. You're a good influence on him, by the sound of it; just don't pick up too many of his bad habits. It's already hard enough on the school image with Bakugou." All Might said.

"I'll try to hold back in public. Sorry." Yurei apologized, then added, "In my defense, I had planned to have a clean fight for the next two matches, and hoped that people would remember those, and not my fight with Hana. Getting stabbed messed that up."

"Believe me, you get a lot more respect points for taking the high road rather than getting in the mud with them. People will also take you more seriously." All Might said.

"Tell that to every student at my last school." Yurei said, and sipped her coffee again.

His eyes went downcast.

"I'll be better about public fights, and I'll encourage Katsuki to talk to a counselor, but he's not going to. We're both planning to work at H.T.S., and they value aggressive heroes. They like flash and power because they need that to fight the big mercenaries that they face off against. My dad and his coworkers who saw me at the hospital said that they were impressed by my fight with Tenya." Yurei commented.

"And I was, too! I've looked at some footage of your time at your old school, in your hero courses, and you never dared solidify in a fight. You always played things safe and stayed in your phased form, knocking people out with your emotions quirk." All Might said excitedly, and she couldn't help but feel a little pride in that. "I think it's great that you're challenging yourself and trying new ways to use your quirk. You're very advanced in your method of using your quirk, since it seems to come so naturally to you, but I admire that you're testing new ways of using it."

"I've been testing out the idea of using my phasing momentum on objects and people. I can glide faster than I can move, and phasing takes out atmosphere and gravity, so there's less friction with the momentum I make." Yurei described.

"And you used that with Iida?" All Might asked.

"Yeah; while he was running, I phased both of us, redirected his momentum, added my own boost with my quirk." Yurei explained.

"That could be incredibly useful in a long range fight. You could kick things a lot harder to hit your enemies, or throw them. You might want to consider practicing soccer or baseball, and using your quirk on those." All Might suggested, and she grinned.

"That's a great idea." Yurei said, and thought about asking her friends to play with her in the future.

"Are you able to speed yourself up while you run with that method? Going back and forth between phasing and solid?" All Might asked, and Yurei contemplated it. Phasing back and forth like that sounded like a headache.

"For running, it's usually faster to just glide and stay phased. I sometimes phase by accident when I train with Katsuki, but he usually gets mad and yells at me." Yurei said, and frowned at the memories.

In sparring, if she phases, he'll usually hit harder.

"I think you should try phasing while doing hand-to-hand sparring. Doing a mix of them could prove useful to you in certain situations." All Might suggested.

"Yeah."

"I'm going to go check on the rest of the class, but you think about what we talked about, and new ways to use your quirk." All Might said, gave her a smile and nod, and stood up. He walked over to the students, and started giving them critiques and motivational talks.

Yurei thought about what he said, and her training with Katsuki. He hadn't trained with her in a week, and he'd pushed her into not phasing as much. Or, not relying on it, at least. He constantly reminded her to not phase, so that she wouldn't hurt herself on equipment. In sparring, he wanted her to learn the technique, instead of breezing by.

_Forcing me to do things the hard way._

She tried to not to think of the double meaning there.

_Do not think about that._

_Stop._

Maybe she would start training on her own. Without him.

… or the soccer idea. Group sport, she could practice her quirk, and get faster.

… she still wanted to do the morning training with Katsuki, though. He was annoying, but she gained a lot of muscle, and her fighting skills improved a lot.

… but now things were awkward.

Yurei let out a tired sigh, and looked over at the people training and exercising. Mina was laughing, and Eijirou was making a weird face at her. Katsuki was in the sparring area with Denki, and looked bored. They went through the usual moves that they were taught last week. When All Might blew his whistle, everyone moved to a different station.

Katsuki and Denki went over to the weight lifting station, and Katsuki still looked so bored. When he glanced her way, she looked elsewhere, over at the gym. In the corner of her eye, she saw him look away, and started to stare again.

This time he caught her. He awkwardly looked away, focusing on spotting for Denki.

She wished that she wasn't injured. Recovery Girl recommended that she take the rest of this week off, and should be good by Monday. That was a lot of time to not train or exercise. If not for her determination to not go back to the hospital, she'd say "fuck it" and train anyway.

She took another sip of her coffee, watching her classmates work. Her gaze drifted to Hana, who was still a bit bruised from their fight. She was using it as an excuse to not exercise, and half-assed everything.

Yurei used to not care when people goofed off in PE. Hell, she usually was that person. _Katsuki drilled into me good workout habits._ She realized with a frown, and wasn't sure if she liked that or not.

8.

April 4th, Wednesday, 6:15 AM

Katsuki caught Yurei staring at him, and tried to force back his smile. He didn't need yet another reason for Denki or the other morons to make fun of him.

"Sucks about the competition." Denki commented.

"Huh?" Katsuki asked.

"The competition. You lost. Deku won." Denki said.

"You lost too. Shut up." Katsuki told him, and glanced back at Yurei, finding that she was looking at something else. He looked at what she was looking at, and realized she was watching Deku.

"My sister watched the competition. She thought you were fun to watch. She keeps asking if you and Yurei are dating. She also keeps asking if you have a weird love triangle with Yurei and Hana. Apparently that's a thing." Denki said.

"Hana is fucking annoying. Tell your sister to get a life." Katsuki said absently. _Why the fuck is she watching Deku?_

"What did you do to get two hot girls to like you?" Denki asked.

"By not giving a shit." Katsuki said, still eyeing Yurei. She was supposed to watch him, not Deku.

"It looks like you do." Denki said, and Katsuki looked down at him.

"What is with you and the other guys, hassling me over this?" Katsuki asked.

"Because you hassle us about pussy jokes." Denki said, and Katsuki rolled his eyes. If Denki wasn't so weak, he'd retaliate by putting his weight on the bar, but that would break one of Denki's bones, and he didn't want to deal with that. As they kept chatting amiably, Katsuki kept glancing at Yurei, wondering why she was staring at Deku.

9.

April 4th, Wednesday, 12:15 PM

Yurei and Katsuki walked over to a noodle shop down the street. Their arms kept brushing together, their movements closer than usual, but they didn't say anything. When they arrived, they got a booth by a window, and were given menus.

There were a lot of students there that day.

Yurei already knew what she wanted, so she set the menu down, and looked up at him. There were no bags under his eyes, no edge in his voice, and his hair had a slight sheen from the product she'd applied the previous day. Like the other day, he wore a hoodie and skinny jeans, but he didn't keep the hoodie up. He looked really nice that day.

When he looked up at her, she looked down at her hands, and then pulled out her phone, needing a distraction.

"Why were you looking at Deku today?" Katsuki asked.

"... huh?" Yurei asked.

"In our first class. You were watching Deku." Katsuki said.

"... no. I watched a lot of people in class. I was busy thinking of new ways on how to use my quirk." Yurei said, and bit the inside of her cheek. There was an awkward silence. "As annoying as you were, I liked our morning training sessions. If you'd be willing, I'd like to start that again once I'm healed more."

"... we won't be able to meet up a lot. Since we'll be working at different places on the weekend, and then class three days a week, that means that we'd only be able to meet two times a week on our own." Katsuki pointed out.

"That's better than nothing, and we can pair up in class…. If you want to, that is." Yurei said awkwardly, and looked back down at her phone. The awkward tension was killing her, building with every moment, and being able to sense Katsuki's awkwardness just compounded with her own.

"You're being weird." Katsuki commented.

"What do you want?" The waitress asked as she came over.

They told her their orders, and she left with the menus.

Yurei glanced up at those red eyes, and bit the inside of her cheek again. He was much better at hiding his anxiety than she was.

"We, uh… we kissed, and then we fell asleep in the same bed. Yeah, I feel weird." Yurei said in a low voice.

"Did you hate it?" Katsuki asked, and Yurei chuckled nervously.

"No, I liked it, and I slept really well…. Having you there made me feel a little safer." Yurei admitted.

"And you helped me sleep. That's the first time I've been able to sleep a full night without drugs or your quirk." Katsuki said.

"So then… do you want to… date? Or… something?" Yurei asked, and dared look at him again. She could see the nervousness in his eyes. Insecurity.

"Would you want to go out with someone like me? I yell and punch people a lot." Katsuki asked.

"So long as you don't hit me, outside of sparring practice, I can work with that." Yurei said.

"And you… I mean, you whine a lot, but… I can deal with that." Katsuki said, and she raised her eyebrows at him. "You do. Dragging you to the training sessions was like giving a cat a bath."

Yurei rolled her eyes, and then remembered what Mina said about her eye rolls.

"I've never had a relationship that lasted more than a week, and I'm weird. I think Mina is my spirit animal." Yurei said, and they both smiled. She liked seeing him do that. "So… are we dating, then? Boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Does that mean that I have to buy you flowers and shit?" Katsuki asked.

"Sometimes, on special occasions. I'd also like to go out on dates every once in a while, and just because we sometimes share a bed, does not mean I will have sex with you for a while." Yurei said, and she chuckled at the frown that tugged at his lips. He didn't seem to be a fan of the last one.

"I thought you said Mina was your spirit animal? She gets laid all the time." Katsuki pointed out.

"I want my first time to be special." Yurei said, and tried not to think about all the complications of having intercourse right then. There were a lot of barriers getting to that point.

"But you-" Katsuki said, and stopped himself.

"I'm not counting that. Do you have a problem with it?" Yurei asked, not intending to sound as defensive as she was. She wanted to be casual about it. To make jokes… and sometimes she could, but her hands hurt from clenching them so tight under the table.

"No. I just… you seem so open about sex, it seems weird that you'd be so… prudish." Katsuki said, and their food finally arrived.

"Is it a dealbreaker for you?" Yurei asked him.

The waitress paused, looking between them.

"Can we get water?" Yurei asked her.

"Yeah." The waitress said, nodding quickly, and walked away.

"No, it's not a dealbreaker." Katsuki said once she was out of earshot.

Yurei took her chopsticks and brought some of the noodles and vegetables into her mouth, devouring a large bite. The waitress came back with water, and promptly left, but then lingered by a nearby table.

"I've never dated anyone before, so, um… and I've never cared for it. I don't really know what to do. I just know that I like spending time with you." Katsuki said, and then looked back down at his food, focusing on similarly shoving a large bite of food into his mouth.

Yurei ran through a mental list of all the things he could dislike about her. She had a lot of issues, a lot of annoying habits, and people after her. Most of her family, excluding her parents and two cousins, disliked her because of her mother. Yurei was raised with two powerful quirks, which was rare. A lot of people assumed that she had things "easy", and she ended up relying on her quirks in everyday situations because of how weak she was. Even though she was training more, she was still weak, especially compared to people like Katsuki.

Self doubt loomed in her mind like a dark shadow, creeping up on her in the recesses of her mind. She focused on her food, slowly eating it, and kept thinking about what happened with Ikari, who fooled her for fifteen years.

"Did I say something wrong already?" Katsuki asked, and she smiled.

"No, I just… I'm… thinking." Yurei said.

"Well, don't hurt yourself." Katsuki said sarcastically.

"I'm just terrified of people. When I make new friendships and relationships, I keep wondering if it's going to end up like Ikari, being lied to and manipulated. People tend to drift towards the same people and fall into habits. I don't… I don't know. My brain feels a bit jumbled." Yurei said.

"Do you like spending time with me?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah." Yurei answered without hesitation.

"Then focus on that. The other shit doesn't matter." Katsuki said.

… she did like spending time with him.

Something nudged her foot, and instantly, those butterflies returned. Her face heated up, and she looked around, making sure that no one was looking.

"Cute." Katsuki said, and she sent him a glare, biting her cheek again. He smirked cockily at her, a smug look on his face, and then she smiled.

"Are you going to be that confident when Mina finds out?" Yurei asked, and that cocky smirk fell, replaced by a borderline horrified one.

She went back to eating, and they shifted to lighter conversation about training strategies.

10.

April 4th, Wednesday, 6:15 PM

Mina wouldn't stop screaming. Everyone in the dining hall was looking at them.

Yurei put her hands over her ears, trying to block out the high-pitched sound, and watched in mild horror as she jumped in her seat excitedly, looking between her and Eijirou.

Once Mina had stopped screaming, Eijirou commented, "Took you two long enough."

Katsuki was safely in his room, having opted out of being there when Mina was told the news. His presence would only make things worse, anyway.

"Have you two kissed yet? How far have you gotten?" Mina asked.

"Why is Mina screaming?" Denki asked at another table.

"Yurei and Katsuki are a couple." Eijirou said.

"Oh… that's unfortunate. We can't make fun of Katsuki anymore." Denki commented.

"No, this means we make fun of him even more." Eijirou said, and the others laughed sadistically. Yurei rolled her eyes.

Mina put both of her hands on either side of Yurei's face, forcing her to look into Mina's extremely serious one. Her eyebrows were knitted together, cheeks puffed out, and lips pursed together.

"How. Far. Have. You. Gotten?" Mina asked.

"We kissed during that dumb storm." Yurei answered.

"How much touching was there? Was it a dainty kiss or heavy make out?" Mina asked.

"I'm not going to answer in front of our entire class." Yurei told her.

"Katsuki's in his room, right?" Eijirou asked.

"Yeah."

"We're going to go congratulate him." Eijirou said as he stood, and half the room got up to leave. If Mina wasn't so busy interrogating her, she'd send a warning text to Katsuki.

11.

April 5th, Thursday, 12:00 PM

Katsuki hated everyone.

They should have dated secretly before going public.

He hated everyone.

For most of the previous evening, he was harassed by his colleagues. They dragged him out of his room, while he yelled about how he'd murder all of them, brought him down to the lounge, tied him up, sat on him, and made fun of him.

During class, they would snicker and make dumb jokes.

At the end of chemistry, Eijirou followed him out, smiling all the while.

"So when's your first date?" Eijirou asked.

"What do you mean?" Katsuki asked.

"Well, you and Yurei are dating. Where's your first date going to be?" Eijirou asked. Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. I'll make Blue Hair Girl choose." Katsuki shrugged.

"You've got to put at least some effort into this. I know that we've all been giving you shit, but that's just because of the dumb spray bottle thing. Yurei really likes you. You two should do something nice." Eijirou said.

"It's not like we really have time for anything. We're going to school full time and we're both doing internships over the weekend." Katsuki pointed out.

"Then take her to a movie and nice dinner. There's a theater close by and there's a really nice restaurant near it that I sometimes take Mina. You have to dress up a little, but it's still pretty casual. It'll take a few hours, but it'll make her happy." Eijirou suggested.

"Are there any good movies playing right now?" Katsuki asked.

"It doesn't matter. It's a thing to watch with her. If it's boring, just make out." Eijirou suggested.

Katsuki shrugged.

"I'll ask Blue Hair Girl if she wants to go." Katsuki said.

"Are you going to keep calling her 'Blue Hair Girl' as you're dating her?" Eijirou asked.

"Yeah." Katsuki replied, and Eijirou rolled his eyes.

12.

April 5th, Thursday, 1:00 PM

The walls were a pale, ashen gray. The carpet a dull brown. An old oil painting of a cactus, that looked novice, hung on the wall. The seats were worn from use, being various shades of purple.

Yurei didn't want to be there.

Hana sat across from her. She was dressed in her usual cutesy outfit, wearing baby blue leggings, a purple skirt, and pink shirt that was slightly darker than her curled short hair. Her body glittered and shined from all of the small keychains on her body. Her hair was filled with small charms that looked to be handmade.

A counselor sat to the side, with a clipboard. He was older, with a balding head and sweet smile. He wore a dark green sweater and beige pants.

Yurei wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a bright blue hoodie with a penguin on the front. Her hair was simple that day, being a basic braid rather than her usual complex one.

The air was stale, and she could smell the counselor's lunch of a fish sandwich from the school cafeteria. The remains were in the garbage bin.

"Thank you for coming, Kasai. I really appreciate your presence." The counselor, "Joe", said.

"I didn't really have a choice, did I?" Yurei asked. Hana made an official request to have a mediator help them through their issues. If Yurei didn't show up, or make an effort to, that would result in a mark on her record.

"You always have a choice. Do you mind if I call you Yurei?" Joe asked.

"Yes. Call me Kasai. I just want this done." Yurei said rigidly.

Hana was absolutely giddy beneath her somber exterior.

"I've been working with Hana ever since last term, when she had that emotional outburst during class. All Might recommended me to her, and we've worked through a lot of things together. I think that, if you keep an open mind today, we can work through some things together." Joe said.

"Why should I keep an open mind to someone who stalked me?" Yurei asked in a flat tone.

"Well, it'll help you understand why she did what she did, and going through this process will teach you how to deal with conflicts in the future." Joe answered, and then added before she could retort, "And if you don't put in some effort, then you'll have to come back."

Yurei rolled her eyes, and looked at Hana, who was trying so desperately to hold back that smile.

"So fucking talk." Yurei told her.

"I would prefer if we don't curse during this session." Joe said.

"And I would prefer to be literally anywhere but here right now." Yurei replied, and then sighed. "Joe, I just got stabbed the other day. I'm tired. I'm still recovering."

"You and Katsuki make the perfect match." Hana said, getting her attention. "You're both pompous and full of yourselves. You think you're better than everyone else."

"Hana, remember what we talked about with using 'I feel' statements?" Joe asked her.

"... you're right, I'm sorry." Hana said.

Then, she started talking, and Yurei only half paid attention. She was lying through her teeth. Or, at least, the emotional aspects of things. Some of the details could be right, for all she fucking knew, but the overall themes were bullshit.

After Hana talked for close to half an hour, she stopped, and both her and Joe looked to Yurei for a response.

"How does hearing that make you feel?" Joe asked.

"... you know what my quirk is, right Joe?" Yurei asked him.

"Phasing through objects, right?" Joe asked.

"I can also sense emotions. I can sense all of you and Hana's emotions right now. She's fucking giddy right now. She's lying through her teeth. Whatever progress you think you're making with her is bullshit. I don't give a shit about her existence, I just want her to leave me alone." Yurei stated.

Joe looked between her and Hana, and she could sense disappointment from him.

"She's lying, obviously. She can say whatever she wants and no one can check her." Hana said.

"Look, Joe, if she ever wants to be honest and shit, I'll be all ears. I don't like to waste my time with people who lie and manipulate to get what they want. She didn't call this meeting to make a truce or come to an understanding. She just wanted to piss me off so that I'd hit her again, and get in trouble." Yurei told him.

"She's lying! I would never do that!" Hana exclaimed.

Joe looked between them, pondering the situation. "Have you been seeing a counselor, Yurei?" Joe asked her.

"No." Yurei answered.

"Perhaps, if you see a counselor, we can come up with a way to resolve your differences." Joe suggested.

"No." Yurei said flatly.

He seemed surprised by her answer.

"I really think you should reconsider. From what Hana told me, you went through an event at your old school, and-"

"No." Yurei interrupted, looking him in the eye and unyielding.

"... you've shown a lot of aggression recently, and-"

"No." Yurei repeated.

"I'll have to mark you as uncooperative unless you at least consider what I'm saying." Joe said.

"Then say something worth considering." Yurei replied.

"Maybe if you talked to a counselor, you wouldn't feel the need to lie about being raped by other students." Joe said, and her entire world stilled.

She literally had footage of Ikari raping her. He'd admitted to it. There were severe wounds on her that could literally not be done by anyone else. She'd had ten surgeries to try and salvage her internal organs from being stabbed over ninety times.

"Is that worth considering?" Joe asked.

"You both can go fuck yourselves." Yurei said, got up, and left. She slammed the door behind her.

She went over to the front desk, and asked for a complaint form. Once she was given it, she put it in her bag, and stormed out. _I shouldn't have gone to that stupid meeting. A mark on my record wasn't worth that bullshit._

The sky was sunny and bright, contrasting with the recent days of poor weather. They were forecasted to start raining again, soon, so students were outside and enjoying the good weather.

Yurei's hands were stuffed into her pockets, and she kept thinking about what Joe said. How, that little brat somehow convinced him that Yurei was the one lying.

Hana was cute, and people let her get away with things because of that.

Yurei wished that she could punch someone. _Maybe Katsuki would be willing to spar._ Except, her dumb fucking injury kept her from doing that… maybe she'd train anyway, and ask Katsuki to go easy on her, especially her stomach area.

"Hey, Yurei," Someone spoke, and she looked over, seeing Eijirou and Katsuki approach her. "How are you?"

"Did you know that the counselors at this school are fucking assholes? I fucking hate counselors." Yurei spat angrily, unable to hold back all of her venom.

"What happened?" Eijirou asked.

"Hana requested a fucking mediator to 'work on our differences'. It was such garbage. It ended up with me telling them to 'fuck off', so now that's going to be on my record. I should have hit her harder at the stupid competition. I shouldn't have held back." Yurei explained, and tried to focus on breathing, to calm herself down, but she kept thinking about what Joe said about her lying.

"Who was the mediator?" Eijirou asked.

"Some asshole named Joe. He's a counselor." Yurei said.

"Oh, Joe? He's usually pretty chill." Eijirou commented.

"Well he's a fucking moron. Hana lied through her teeth the entire fucking time, and when I told him that, he accused _me_ of lying. Even brought up my old school, and said I lied about what happened there. What kind of professional piece of shit counselor accuses rape victims of lying after less than an hour with them? And All Might actually tried to convince me that Hana might be getting better. Fuck that." Yurei cursed and ranted, still feeling anger in her chest over what happened.

"Ooh… yeah, that's not cool." Eijirou said awkwardly.

"Why'd you go to a fucking mediator meeting in the first place?" Katsuki asked.

"Because it goes on your record as refusing to resolve a conflict with a classmate." Yurei answered.

"... it goes on your record?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

"Is that why you never go to them? Because you thought that there were no consequences?" Eijirou asked Katsuki.

"... it's not like I fucking care, anyway." Katsuki replied with a shrug. "They're stupid."

"Half of the people at his school are terrified of you. It probably would be good for you to go to one." Eijirou told him.

"Not if the mediators are garbage, like Joe." Yurei said.

"Exactly." Katsuki said.

"That's not why you don't go." Eijirou accused.

"Fuck off." Katsuki replied.

"People are trash, and I hate them." Yurei muttered, still thinking about the meeting.

"Exactly. She gets it." Katsuki said with a nod in her direction. Eijirou let out a tired sigh.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** Hey y'all. I know I usually say "just skip ahead to the story if you don't want to read this part!" but please, please read my author's note. If you've ever felt enjoyment for my stories, please read this. This will be mostly aimed at my readers in the US.

We've officially reached 100,000 deaths for Covid-19, and states are opening up too soon. People are traveling for frivolous vacations, wearing a mask to save lives has been politicized, and we have no leader. Our government is in shambles. People are dying. We don't have anyone to look up to for guidance, only a few struggling to hold things together.

I learned recently that my sister and her family aren't taking this seriously. I based a lot of my strong female characters, loosely, on my sister, because I admired her strength and compassion when it came to helping people. I thought she was someone to look up to and admire; but it turns out that she's the hippie version of the Karen meme- literally putting our mother and her son directly in harms way- for something as frivolous as a pedicure. I have tried my best to beg my mom to be safer and convince my sister to be safer, but she won't. She, basically, lives on a compound with my 93+ yo grandparents and my mother, who is 67 and survived 2 cancers. There's another person, not related to me, who has had a plethora of severe health issues and is around my mother's age. That place is a ticking time bomb of death, and there's nothing I can do about it. I am mortified by the amount of people my family will sacrifice to avoid being inconvenienced. I thought they were better. I thought they were heroes, and I was wrong. I wanted them to be better, and in this time of crisis, they failed. There have always been signs that they weren't good people, countless instances where I watched them do terrible things or just stand by as people were hurt- but I focused on the good things about them, and tried to ignore the bad parts. My cat of 18 years passed away a couple months ago, and I started this year with my dad nearly dying from an allergic reaction to Chinese food. I wouldn't be surprised if I end the year attending funerals.

So, I'm uploading about 50,000 words worth of chapters to incentive people to stay home. Just because our president says "it's gone," it is not. In 4 months, while practicing lockdowns and social distancing, Covid-19 killed more people than the Vietnam War did in 11 years. Our leaders won't do enough testing to figure out how many people have it. Some of our leaders are literally trying to figure out ways to lie to the public about numbers in order to justify staying open.

So, right now, we all need to keep our capes on and stay home. It is not over. Covid-19 is not done and gone. Covid-19 is painful, brutal, and we're still learning about it. There is no way to know what symptoms you'll have if you get it- it could put you in a coma, kill you, take one of your limbs, or manifest as asymptomatic. It's unpredictable and there is no cure. It's not just "it kills you, or it doesn't"- the symptoms are varied and painful. Even if you're young and healthy, it can knock you on your ass.

My sister and her family have plans to travel all over the country this year, and she's not canceling them. So please, even if you think this is a hoax, even if you think I'm over exaggerating, please stay home out of respect for me. Please stay home.

I have 2 other novel length bnha fics- I wasn't planning to post one of them, but if it means incentivizing people to stay home, I'll be glad to start posting it. They don't have endings, and because of recent events, I'm so devastated I don't think I'll be able to finish them. But, even so, I think I've got a solid 200,000+ words for each one? One of them is so good that I started to make it into its own book. If you want me to post those, leave me a review saying so.

If you need a mask and can't afford one, PM me and I'll gladly make you one myself and send it to you. I don't have a sewing machine, but I'll do my best with the few resources I have. You can design your own masks on RedBubble for a decent price. (it's around $10, I think?)

**Go Plus Ultra. Please stay home (when physically possible), wash your hands, social distance, and don't travel. You staying home could literally save someone's life.**

I hope you enjoy the following chapters and it provides a nice escape for you- these bnha stories provided a lot of comfort and joy for me last year. I poured my heart and soul into them.

Stay home. Be kind. Be safe. If you choose to stay home and are taking extra precautions, you have my undying gratitude and adoration. If you need it, I posted a pep talk in a bonus chapter after the newest chapters. To everyone that read this Author's Note, thank you.

**Author's Note(when I wrote this) :** The end of this chapter was inspired by an episode from Dragon Pilot. :3

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_Unlucky_

April 5th, Thursday, 6:00 PM

After a few hours of calming down, Yurei went downstairs to join her friends in the lounge. They seemed to be giving Katsuki dating advice.

"You know the arm trick, right?" Hanta asked him.

"To break it?" Katsuki asked, and Mineta face palmed nearby.

"No, when you're at the movies, you pretend to yawn, but then you stretch out your arm behind them. Like this." Hanta said, and then moved to sit down next to him. Hanta demonstrated, fake yawning and putting his arm around Katsuki's shoulder. "Then, it's pretty easy to transition into a kiss from there."

Katsuki's eye twitched as he glared at Hanta, who quickly removed his arm and went back to the other couch.

"What movie do you plan to take her to?" Mina asked him.

"I don't fucking know." Katsuki replied. Yurei smiled as she came over, and some of them jumped in alarm at her appearance.

She stood behind Katsuki on the couch he sat on, and gently tugged at his hair, pulling his head back to look up at her. His glare shifted, realizing it was her, and she leaned down to briefly kiss him on the lips.

"So you're taking me to a movie?" Yurei asked.

"I guess. What movie do you want to see?" Katsuki asked.

"Are there any good ones playing?" She asked.

"Not really. They all look like shit." Katsuki replied.

"So why are we going to the movies, then?" Yurei asked.

"You said you wanted to do dates." Katsuki replied, and she smiled.

"We could do a double date." Mina suggested.

"Katsuki and Yurei should do their first date alone, though, and you would make things way too awkward." Eijirou told Mina, who looked offended.

"I would never make anyone awkward!" Mina said indignantly.

"Mina, you would spend literally the entire date staring at Katsuki and Yurei whispering 'do it' over and over again." Eijirou said.

"So?" Mina asked.

"That makes things awkward." Eijirou said.

"Why?" Mina asked.

Yurei refocused her attention on Katsuki, who seemed content with her hands on the sides of his face, gently caressing his cheeks.

"Have you ever shot bow and arrows before?" Yurei asked him.

"... no?" Katsuki replied.

"We could do dinner and shooting things with arrows for our first date. A new place opened up across town with archery, blacksmithing, and other weird medieval stuff." Yurei suggested.

"Shooting stuff counts as a date?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah. Most activities count, so long as we're doing them together. Archery sounds a lot more fun than going to a shitty movie." Yurei said.

"Why would you do archery instead of a movie?" Mineta asked nearby, having been eavesdropping.

"If my options are watch a shitty movie or shoot things with medieval weapons, I'd rather shoot things." Yurei replied.

"Wait, you're doing archery for your first date?" Denki asked.

"Girls like shooting stuff?" Mashirao asked.

"What? No! Yurei, you can't do archery for your first date! Your first date should be simple!" Mina exclaimed.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

"... because! It's tradition!" Mina exclaimed.

"Shouldn't a first date be unique and fun to the couple? Archery would be unique and shooting things would be fun for both of us. Plus, we'll do a classic dinner, too, so it'll still be keeping up with tradition." Yurei said.

"But how do you flirt with archery?" Mina asked.

"Get creative." Yurei shrugged, and then sensed a shift from Katsuki. She looked down at him, and realized that he was staring at her breasts. "What are you looking at?" Yurei snapped at him, and he looked back to her eyes, not a hint of guilt or remorse in those red orbs. "You're part of this discussion, too, loser."

She ruffled his hair and then brought his head back up, to where it had been before, and she walked over to sit on the armrest of the couch.

"Do you want to do archery sometime, Mina?" Eijirou asked her, and she made a face at him, akin to anger and disgust. "It was just a question, sheesh."

Yurei hit Katsuki's chest, getting his attention again. "When do you want to do the date?"

"When is the archery thing open?" Katsuki asked.

Yurei pulled out her phone, and looked up the location's website. She came across their hours, lessons, and packages. "There's a lesson there tonight at eight. Tomorrow there's a couple, at five and nine." Yurei answered.

"I have my internship tomorrow night. I have to get to the hotel by eleven." Katsuki said, and she frowned slightly, but tried not to dwell on it.

"Then we can go tonight. We should change and get moving. We can get there early by bus, eat somewhere nearby, and then do the thing." Yurei said.

1.

April 5th, Thursday, 10:00 PM

When they got back to campus that night, Yurei yawned tiredly into her hand, and leaned against Katsuki's arm. They walked through the quiet campus, taking in the tranquil night air, and didn't converse much.

Yurei wouldn't admit it, but she kind of wished that she and Katsuki had done the movie. As much as she enjoyed shooting, and then laughing at Katsuki and yelling at him to be safe (he kept wanting to shoot when they were supposed to have all arrows down, which risked killing someone), it didn't quite have that date vibe.

Going out kind of felt like a regular night out for them, like training, and even their dinner had felt casual.

"Did you have fun?" Yurei asked, and looked up at him. He seemed calm, neither happy nor sad, for most of the night.

"Yeah." Katsuki nodded, not looking at her.

"... did you want to sleep over again, or did you want to sleep in your own bed tonight?" Yurei asked, and at that, he reacted. Katsuki's face turned beat red, his eyes going wide, and his emotions fluctuated greatly.

Yurei grinned, her cheeks turning slightly pink, and she enjoyed watching him struggle for an answer.

"I can sleep in my own damn room." Katsuki said.

"You could take a shower, and then I can add products to your hair, like the other night. It might help you relax, so that you can sleep on your own." Yurei said.

That seemed to make him more awkward. Yurei giggled, grinning to herself, and reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"I don't- fucking- shit-" Katsuki cursed as he struggled to form a sentence. They were getting close to the dorms, so Yurei slowed down, and guided him over to a tree. No one was out this late on a school night.

Katsuki was a bundle of nerves, and she weirdly enjoyed seeing him like that. She liked being the cause of that.

Yurei leaned against the bark of the tree, bringing him to stand directly in front of her, and held his hands. His warm breath wafted over her face, and she could smell their earlier meal of spiced shrimp. He was hesitant, awkward, breathing hard, and seeming indecisive.

She chuckled up at his startled expression, and suddenly, his confused eyes turned into a glare.

"You did that on purpose. To get a rise out of me." Katsuki accused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Yurei said, and smiled into the smoldering kiss he gave her.

2.

April 6th, Friday, 6:00 AM

Yurei was feeling strangely upbeat the next day, as she arrived for class. She'd already had her coffee when she got there.

In addition, she saw a person she hadn't seen in a while.

Hair Element: one of her favorite heroes, and all time favorite teacher. She was talking to All Might, wearing her signature orange and purple costume, with long blond hair cascading down her back in a fishtail braid. One of the reasons Yurei styled her hair the way she did was because of Hair Element.

The hero's real name was Sora Sato, and she specialized in first aid. She was sometimes known as being the "Angel on the Battlefield", with her long flowing hair, gentle voice, and graceful movements. She bounced around from one agency to another, acting as a medic in some historic villain fights. Hair Element had even saved All Might's life once with her quick thinking.

Even though she was known as a medic, her quirk was completely unrelated. She could create whatever element she ate from the back of her head, similar to Momo's creation quirk, but less advanced. Hero Element could only do simple elements, like rocks and diamonds, and a few others, like fish meat. The bottom half of the back of her head was shaved off, because of her quirk, but the top half of her head was a luscious mane of hair usually kept in a neat and orderly braid.

Her long, blond locks were absolutely beautiful.

"Who the fuck is that?" Katsuki asked near her, and she gaped at him in shock.

"How the- how the fuck do you not know who she is!? That's Hair Element! One of the coolest heroes of all time!" Yurei told him.

"I haven't heard of her." Katsuki shrugged, and she gaped at him, struggling to find the right words to express her exasperation.

"Is that Hair Element?!" Someone gasped nearby, and she looked over, seeing the same star struck expression she'd had moments ago on Deku's face.

"Yeah, it is! She's so great!" Yurei told him, getting closer to Deku.

"She's amazing! Oh my gosh, I can't believe she's here, talking to All Might!" Deku said in disbelief.

"I know! She's probably here to go over first aid procedures with us. When she's not teaching at Hokame College she bounces around from agency to agency, offering first aid classes to heros. She was my favorite teacher at my old school!" Yurei told him hurriedly.

"You got to take one of her classes!?" Deku exclaimed.

"Yep! I took her introduction to first aid in emergency situations class, and had planned to take the entire sequence before transferring here. She's absolutely amazing. She's probably going to start the class with a bunch of motivating stories, about her and the students she's taught and their experiences with first aid, and then go over some basic things with the class. AAAH I can't believe she's here!" Yurei squealed, and tried to keep her voice down.

Hair Element and All Might looked their way, and Yurei gave them a happy wave.

_Oh crap, I look like shit!_ She tensed, watching as Hair Element's face turned to a disapproving deadpan, and Yurei wanted to die.

"Oh god, did I do something wrong? That's a look of death." Deku asked.

"I look like shit today. If I'd known she would be here, I would have dressed up. Today is a disaster." Yurei said, and tried not to cry as Hair Element and All Might went back to talking.

"You look fine. It's probably Deku's dumb face that offended her." Katsuki said.

"I haven't even talked to her and I already offended her!" Deku exclaimed in a loud whisper while holding his head.

"I probably look like such shit that she doesn't even recognize me." Yurei groaned.

"You look fine. We established that Deku is the ugly fucker." Katsuki said.

"No, it's definitely me. I used to spend two hours every morning before her class getting dressed. I didn't even put on make up this morning or do my usual fishtail braid. She's either going to recognize me and think I look like crap, or not recognize me and think I look like crap." Yurei told him.

"Oi, you look fine. You look better than most of the people in the class." Katsuki told her.

"No, I don't. I did such a quick brush through with my hair this morning and stayed up late last night researching quirk stuff, so there's probably bags under my eyes and my hair looks like crap." Yurei ranted.

"I don't give a shit what you think, you look fine." Katsuki told her with an edge in his voice.

"Well fuck you, too." Yurei retorted with a glare.

"I'm trying to give you a compliment." Katsuki said.

"In an asshole way. I don't care what you think, either; guys are fucking morons when it comes to personal grooming. Yugo is an exception." Yurei said, and Yugo made a sparkly pose nearby.

"Are you calling me an idiot?" Katsuki asked.

"You didn't even know what conditioner was until last night." Yurei reminded him, and his eye twitched in irritation.

"Oh my gosh, is that Hair Element?!" Mina gasped behind her.

As students came in, gushing about the guest hero, Hair Element and All Might addressed the group, telling them to get comfortable in the lounge. Hair Element would be making her usual rousing speech, and Yurei had memorized most of her speeches.

This one had a new part at the end, about a student that took her class in the past and used that knowledge to save someone having a heart attack. She was wonderful at story telling.

Yurei absolutely adored her.

After the speech, people were instructed to pair up and go to the gymnasium, where supplies were set up.

"Every pair needs one first aid box." Hair Element announced. Yurei was one of the first to grab a box in the center of the room, and chose a spot for her and Katsuki. He didn't look nearly as enthused as he came over to join her.

"Pay attention and take this seriously, Katsuki." Yurei told him.

"Whatever." Katsuki grunted, and she glared daggers at him, causing him to tense.

3.

April 6th, Friday, 6:45 AM

About halfway through the class period, they took a break. Most people had their own water bottles, but it seemed like Hair Element didn't. She walked over to the water fountain across the room.

"You should go talk to her!" Mina whispered.

"No way!" Yurei replied in a panic.

"You took a class with her! Just talk about your old school or something! Go, go, go!" Mina insisted, and pushed her towards the infamous hero. It would look weird for her to just stop now, so she took a deep breath, and made her way over to her.

After taking a drink from the water fountain, Hair Element straightened her posture, and wiped her mouth with her forearm.

"Hi! Uh, hi, I doubt you remember someone like me, but I took one of your classes in the fall. I'm so excited to be in one of your classes again." Yurei said awkwardly, with her heart pounding painfully against her rib cage like a sledgehammer.

One of the pictures on her wall was a selfie with Hair Element. It was by far her favorite and most treasured, even above her picture with All Might.

"I remember." Hair Element said in a rigid voice.

Yurei's smile faltered slightly.

"You received the highest grade in that class. Not many people accomplish that." Hair Element said, still in her flat tone, and Yurei beamed in pride.

"You're an inspiration to me- I even try to style my hair like yours. Not exactly, of course, I don't want to copy copy your image or anything, and I usually spend more time on my hair, and I would have this morning if I'd known you were going to be here," Yurei rambled awkwardly, and then, Hair Element put a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eye.

_Hair Element touched my shoulder! I could die happy right now._

Yurei stared happily into Hair Element's bright blue eyes.

"I remember you in my class. You were always flirting with that boy, Ikari. I was disappointed when I learned what you did, but not surprised. People with powerful quirks like yours always act like they're better than everyone else. You didn't even bother hiding it in your fight with that little girl. People like you make me sick." Hair Element said, cutting through her to the core.

As her hand left her shoulder, she could feel her entire world collapse around her again.

Her role model, the hero she looked up to, admired, fashioned herself after… said that she made her sick.

… _I need to get thicker skin. This isn't that bad._

… _I've dealt with… worse…. _She gulped down the lump in her throat, and turned, only to see Deku standing near her with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay?" Deku asked.

"Yeah. I mean I should be used to it by now." Yurei said, and dabbed her eyes with her sleeve.

"What she said was really hurtful. I know you really looked up to her. I can't imagine what I would do if All Might said that to me." Deku said.

"Don't mention it to people, alright?" Yurei requested, and he nodded.

Yurei walked over to Mina, who screamed and jumped on her in excitement.

"Oh my gosh, that was so cool! What did she say?" Mina asked.

"... she remembered me. I rambled like an idiot." Yurei said with an awkward smile.

"Oh my god, I would die if I talked to her." Mina gushed. "What did her hand feel like? Was it like fifty billion puppies and rainbows compacted into a singular hand?"

"That sounds disgusting." Katsuki said.

"You're disgusting!" Mina shouted in response.

"Let's get back to our spot. They're going to start again soon." Yurei told Katsuki. Their small group disbanded, going back to their spots to practice. With their box they had instructions on different methods of first aid to administer to their partner.

Yurei already knew everything by heart.

"Next up is burns." Yurei told him as she sat down.

"Are you okay?" Katsuki asked.

"Just do the stupid thing." Yurei told him, not looking at him. "There's a salve in there. Pretend to apply it to my arm and then bandage it."

He quietly started to do as instructed, pretending to slather on the salve, and Yurei stopped him.

"No, you'll need to be more gentle. Burns are serious. Depending on the severity, there can be a lot of damaged skin. Do it more like this." Yurei said, and demonstrated on his arm.

When he tried it on her arm again, he carelessly jabbed his fingers into her forearm.

"No, you need to be gentle." Yurei said.

"That is gentle." Katsuki replied.

"No, that's how you damage skin. You can hit a bullseye after ten minutes of practice with a bow and arrow but you can't apply a salve? This is easy, Katsuki." Yurei told him.

"It's not like it matters." Katsuki said.

"You have an explosion quirk. You of all people should take this seriously." Yurei told him, and looked up into his face, seeing a slight smirk there.

… he was doing that on purpose.

"Just do the next part." Yurei told him.

"What has you so riled up?" Katsuki asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"You and I train together a lot, which means I could get injured and you're the one that would have to apply first aid. If you don't take this seriously, I won't be able to trust you in that situation." Yurei said.

"Then don't get injured. Use that as motivation." Katsuki said.

"You are so infuriating sometimes." Yurei said.

"Another victim, I see." Hair Element said as she walked past, and briefly locked eyes with Yurei. She continued on to the pair next to them, offering them feedback.

Yurei tried to close herself off and not show how much that hurt, gulping down the lump in her throat. Her mouth felt dry.

"What the hell does that mean?" Katsuki asked.

"Just do the thing." Yurei said, and handed him the bandage roll and keeping her head down.

4.

April 6th, Friday, 9:00 AM

Yurei and Katsuki sat next to each other in the dorms, passively reading between classes. Most people in their dorm had the required training class and general studies with them, so there were a lot of people coming and going. They were eating food, squeezing in a shower, and other activities.

The main TV was on a news channel. Kyoka and a few others were taking a class that required them to watch news stations every week, and take notes.

Even though Yurei wanted to focus on her art history reading, she couldn't. She kept thinking about Hair Element, Joe, and the students from her old school. How, even though she had one of the cleanest rape cases in existence to prosecute, there were still people who believed she was lying. People thought that, because of her quirk, she had made him do it.

Or, people like Hair Element, thought she flirted with him, and "should have known what would happen."

_Who in their right mind would manipulate someone into mutilating them like that? Ten fucking surgeries. 90 stab wounds. I almost died from blood loss and having my internal organs ruptured. Who in their right fucking mind would consent to being fucked by a giant cactus with spikes on their dick?_

"You've been on that page for a while." Katsuki commented.

She didn't respond.

Her legs were curled under her, and she leaned against Katsuki's arm as she 'read.' He was comfortable, and she liked the contact. They'd held hands walking from class to the dorms, which had been a nice feeling.

"Is it the usual shit, or did the hero chick say something?" Katsuki asked.

"It doesn't matter." Yurei muttered, and then felt her phone vibrate against her leg. She grunted, and then reached for her phone, and reluctantly answered it.

"Mirio told me that you're dating that Bakugou boy. I thought you liked Mina?" Her mother asked.

"Mina is just a friend. Katsuki and I are dating." Yurei said.

"Why didn't you tell me that you like that boy? Your father isn't going to be very happy. He was just getting used to the idea of you dating a cute girl. Is Katsuki the reason that you beat up that poor girl at the competition?" Her mother asked.

"No, she-"

"Were you trying to impress him? You don't need to hurt people to impress boys, Yurei. Just because boys fight each other for a girl's attention, doesn't mean that you have to stoop to that level. Have you two gone on a date yet?" Her mother asked. She sounded hyper; she probably just had her coffee.

"We went on a date last night. We did archery and dinner." Yurei said.

"You and a boy went shooting together? For your first date?" Her mother asked in horror.

"It's bows and arrows, mom. It was medieval stuff. Girls were in stupid dresses and guys were in leather. It was fun." Yurei defended.

"Honey, you shouldn't take a boy to archery classes on your first date. Why didn't you just do a dinner and a movie?" Her mother asked, and she rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Because there's not any good movies out right now, and we wanted to do archery. We had a good time." Yurei defended, and then noticed Katsuki's phone going off, too. He pulled out his phone and cursed under his breath. His mom was calling him, too.

"I don't know if I like the idea of my only daughter going out with a boy who explodes things with his hands, and doing such a violent sport." Her mother said.

Katsuki took his call and got up, going outside. She set her book on his empty spot and shifted.

"It's not violent, mom, and it's actually pretty safe." Yurei said.

"Archery is a barbaric sport. You launch thin pieces of wood at animals to kill them." Her mother said.

"We weren't hunting, we only shot at targets. Some of the targets had silly monsters on them, so it was fun to kill Cthulhu and Count Dracula." Yurei explained, but that didn't alleviate her mother's mood.

5.

April 6th, Friday, 9:10 AM

Katsuki held the phone away from his ear as his mother yelled.

"You need to be nice to her this weekend, alright? No hitting, no hair pulling, no yelling- just be nice to her." His mother said, and he grunted. "I'm serious, Katsuki. You need to be nice to Hana this weekend. This internship could open a lot of doors for you."

"I'm already set up to work at H.T.S. when I graduate." Katsuki reminded her.

"But if that falls through, having a back up is important. Suzuki Agency is a good place to work. They help a lot of people and they have a lot of connections." His mother said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Most of the other internships I was offered are better than this shit internship. If I'd paired with Blue Hair Girl again, they would have given us a bonus." Katsuki told her.

"Just do this, Katsuki. You need to do this." His mother insisted.

"Is there some kind of family bullshit going on?" Katsuki asked.

"Don't use that tone with me! Your father and I worked hard to get you where you are now." His mother said, and started her usual guilt tripping speech.

He was pretty sure that his mom was leaving something out, but she clearly wasn't going to say what. She'd been particularly loud ever since he started college. Being repeatedly attacked by the League of Villains and being part of All Might's downfall made her increasingly obnoxious.

"I'm doing the damn internship, mom. So long as she keeps her hands off of me, I won't do anything to her." Katsuki said.

"Not this again. I thought you grew out of this, Katsuki." His mom said, and his heart fell at her tone.

"I won't do anything." Katsuki added defensively.

"Good."

They talked for a little while longer, and then hung up.

Katsuki took a deep, calming breath, and shoved his phone into his pocket.

Someone was leaving as he was going back inside, meaning he didn't have to use the dumb card reader to get in. He walked back over to the couch, where it seemed like Yurei was still talking on the phone. She didn't seem to be having a good conversation.

"What is with all the hate, mom? I thought you and dad loved Katsuki." Yurei asked, and Katsuki paused behind her. "He's only like that in fights. He's calm when we're not in front of people. He does the whole macho thing and takes it too far around other guys…. Mom, I know that, and I don't want to talk about it."

Katsuki gently took the back of her braided ponytail, tugging her back, so that she'd tilt her head to look at him. He leaned down and gently kissed her lips, and pulled away, watching as her scowl turned into a giddy grin.

"No, mom, no," Yurei suddenly said as she sat up again, and he was slightly irked in her change in attention. "Stop talking about it, seriously, stop it."

Yurei suddenly got up, quietly arguing with her mother as she went towards her room, and Katsuki quietly glared at her back for leaving.

6.

April 6th, Friday, 8:00 PM

"UUUUUGH I don't want to go!" Mina complained by the doorway, looking up at Eijirou with a pout.

That night, a lot of people were leaving to go to their agencies. A lot of their classmates had gotten internships for the term, and most of them were on the weekend, to not conflict with classes. Yurei was rare, in that her agency would be within walking distance. She didn't have to worry about travel time or expenditures.

As Mina cried in the doorway, Yurei turned and set her chin on Katsuki's shoulder, looking up at him. He paused in his reading to look at her.

"What?" Katsuki asked.

"If Hana does anything weird, make sure you go to HR and file a complaint. Have everything on record in case she tries to do anything." Yurei told him in a serious voice.

"My mom would probably kill me if I did that." Katsuki said.

"It's your life, not hers. Being reported for something isn't the end of the world. If it's something small, it won't even go on her official record, just the agency's as a small footnote. What'll happen is they'll have a talk with her, explain how whatever she did was inappropriate, and then she'll hopefully back off before anything serious happens. Hana gets an official warning but no serious consequence, and-"

"I can fight my own battles, you know." Katsuki interrupted.

"I'm offering advice. I'm guessing that you've never had to go through the process of reporting another student for misconduct, so I'm giving you advice based on my experience." Yurei said in a low voice.

"I'll be fine." Katsuki assured.

Katsuki didn't tell her specific details of what happened between them, but Yurei had guesses based on their conversations. She guessed that Hana touched him without his consent, and that he was still awkward from the closet session with her.

Then, he smirked at her, and she raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"Jealous?" Katsuki asked.

"No. I just want you to be okay." Yurei said, and blushed as he leaned in closer, so that their noses were almost touching.

"I dunno. You sound a little jealous to me." Katsuki said, still smirking.

"I'm not jealous. Are you saying that I have a reason to be? Do you like her?" Yurei asked, and he rolled his eyes.

"No." Katsuki said, and gave her a brief kiss on the lips.

She frowned, staring into his red eyes, and wished that they could talk about it. Katsuki wouldn't, though, and he definitely wouldn't in front of people. The room was empty, save for Eijirou and Mina by the door, but anyone could walk in on them.

She didn't want him to get hurt because of her. Hana could harass him all she wanted, and was a good enough liar that she could get away with it. If Katsuki retaliated in anyway, Hana had the ability to make it look ten times worse than it was.

Yurei submitted the complaint form that morning, regarding the session with Joe.

"Still pissed from that mediation meeting?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah." Yurei muttered.

"Is that why you were upset this morning?" Katsuki asked.

"... Hair Element said some… not nice things. Having my favorite hero of all time say that I make her sick kind of sucked." Yurei said.

"Fuck her. If I hadn't heard of her, she wasn't that great, anyway." Katsuki said.

"She was great to me." Yurei emphasized, but he rolled his eyes.

"Did she say your hair is ugly, or something?" Katsuki asked.

"No." Yurei replied, and then dread filled her, thinking about her hair.

… what was she supposed to do about her hair, now? She modeled her hair after Hair Element, but if she hated her, she had to change that.

"I guess I need to get a haircut." Yurei said, sadness filling her at the idea.

"You're going to cut your hair just because some weirdo told you to?" Katsuki asked.

"I modeled my hair after hers, Katsuki. If she hates me, if she… why should I keep my hair like this?" Yurei asked, looking into his eyes again.

"Because it's your fucking hair. You love that shit. You don't get rid of something you like just because some bitch said something shitty. And what the hell am I going to call you if you cut all of that off?" Katsuki asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"My name." Yurei said.

"No." Katsuki said, and she chuckled. "Keep your damn hair. Elemental Hair Shit whatever can go fuck herself."

Yurei let out a tired sigh.

"You don't get it, but thank you for trying." Yurei told him.

"You're being stupid." Katsuki stated.

"What are you going to do about sleep this weekend?" Yurei asked, and he grunted.

7.

April 6th, Friday, 11:20 PM

That night, as Katsuki stood in his hotel room, he let out a tired sigh. He really wished that Yurei was next door, and not the ghost freak.

The room was plain and small, with a zig-zag carpet and seashell wallpaper. There was one twin sized bed, a dresser, TV, and few other small things. His bag was on the bed, open, with his clothes for the next day laid out.

His hair dripped with water from the shower he just took, and he wore a simple white bathrobe. He stood in front of the mirror by the dresser, two small bottles with him, and read the labels… there were a lot of words on them.

He used the complimentary shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom, as instructed, and then he was supposed to apply one of these to his hair, and then spray the other one on afterwards.

… _the spray goes second. Duh._

Katsuki didn't really care about having nice hair or whatever, he just liked the feel of it. He liked the feeling of Yurei's hands in his hair, massaging his scalp, and the smell of the products. The smell alone would probably be enough to lull him to sleep.

Just before starting the process, he felt like he was being watched. He looked up, over by the window, and realized that the blinds were open. He was on the third floor, and there was a tree outside, but he still felt unnerved.

Walking over to close them, goosebumps kept rising along his skin as chills went through him. Once the curtains were shut, he still felt like he was being watched. He looked around, but saw no one, and no cameras.

He couldn't pinpoint the feeling.

Shaking his head, he let out a tired sigh, and started moving his stuff off of his bed for sleep.

8.

April 7th, Saturday, 10:00 AM

Katsuki felt slightly uneasy, despite how ideal the circumstances were.

For their first day, they were being shown the agency training room, which was state of the art. For new heroes of their agency, they usually got new equipment specialized to their quirk, in order to make sure that every person could train to their fullest capabilities.

This agency was very quirk specific, and in his opinion, not very versatile. Fighters were fighters. Information gathering was information gathering. People that did patrols were the few that were trained in a variety of things, but even then, they seemed limited.

As Katsuki walked around, he saw heroes training on the various equipment, pushing themselves. They would pause to stop and wave to him and Hana, who were being guided by Refuge Drama, a shadow quirk user.

"We have just about everything here. Anything you want to learn, we can get you trained in." Refuge Drama said.

"That's so cool!" Hana giggled, and latched onto Katsuki's arm. His eye twitched, and he snaked his arm out from her grasp, only for her to latch onto his side.

"Stop touching me." Katsuki said in an even tone.

"You two are so cute! Are you two dating?" Refuge Drama asked.

"No. Get off of me." Katsuki told her, and shoved her off with a glare. The way she looked at him sent a sickening feeling through him, as if his blood was slowly being replaced with some kind of sludge. His skin crawled, his heart thudded in his chest, and he had the urge to fight.

"Do I see love blossoming?" Refuge Drama asked dramatically.

"I have a girlfriend, keep your damn hands to yourself." Katsuki snapped at her.

"A love triangle!?" Refuge Drama asked.

"Fuck off." Katsuki said with a glare.

His mom better appreciate the bullshit he was going through to be here.

9.

April 7th, Saturday, 11:00 AM

Once Katsuki was able, he went to the bathroom and texted Yurei, asking how her internship was going. She didn't answer immediately, which made his anxiety worsen.

He had to fight himself a lot to not hit Hana every time she touched him. She took every excuse to have physical contact with him, and even made up excuses to get closer to him. He wasn't subtle, even their guide kept joking about it, and Katsuki was literally feeling sick from it.

If he tells Yurei, she'll tell him to go to fucking HR. He didn't want to deal with that shit. He just wanted to fight.

As the minutes rolled by, he jumped when she finally replied.

_Blue Hair Girl: Sorry, I'm a bit busy. My internship is going well, though! I'm helping plant a community garden. How's yours going?_

Katsuki frowned.

… usually she hated doing internship stuff without him….

_Me: they have a cool gym and shit. I'm going to be working out soon_

_Blue Hair Girl: Nice!_

Katsuki went to the gallery on his phone, and looked up the picture of Yurei in the skimpy bikini. Then, he went to the one of her glaring at him, and he smiled.

_Blue Hair Girl: There's a girl here, Tina, that I'm working with. I showed her a pic of you and she thinks you're scary. Do u happen to have any pics of u that aren't terrifying?_

_Me: u saying I'm ugly?_

His grin widened, and his anxiety started to melt away.

_Blue Hair Girl: … yes, Katsuki, that is what I'm saying._

_Blue Hair Girl: literally the only pic I have of u not giving a death glare or growling is the one of me poking ur nose while we're half naked._

Katsuki grunted. He hated that picture.

The school fucking loved posting that dumb picture everywhere, as if it made their two most ruthless first year fighters seem less scary, or some shit.

_Me: y do u care if they think I look scary?_

_Blue Hair Girl: bcuz she's recommending me to domestic abuse programs._

Katsuki's eye twitched. He'd never hurt Yurei… not in that way, at least. Sparring was a different story.

"Katsuki, you okay? You've been in there a while." Refuge Drama asked nearby.

"I'm fine." Katsuki grumbled.

10.

April 7th, Saturday, 5:00 PM

By the end of the work day, Katsuki was emotionally exhausted, but he pushed himself to go over to HR. One of the HR people that had talked to him and Hana that morning, Tanaka, was on his way out. He'd said that if they have any concerns or worries, they could talk to him.

"Tanaka." Katsuki barked, causing the larger man to give a startled jump. He put a hand to his chest, catching his breath, and smiled at Katsuki.

"Hey, sorry, you startled me. Is there something you need?" Tanaka asked.

Katsuki paused, looking around. There was no one at the main desk.

"Hana keeps fucking touching me, and she won't stop. You're supposed to deal with that shit, right?" Katsuki asked.

"Hana? That adorable little girl that you're working with?" Tanaka asked.

"She's a little psycho." Katsuki said.

"She just has a crush on you, Bakugou. I wouldn't get too worked up over it. You should feel complimented by the attention." Tanaka said.

"Either she stops touching me, or I end up punching her in the face." Katsuki said.

"Oh come on, you're not the slightest bit complimented? I'm sure she's just awkward and doesn't know how to talk to you." Tanaka said.

"No. She's a pervert." Katsuki stated, and Tanaka let out a tired sigh.

"Alright, thank you for coming to me. I'll remind Hana about appropriate workplace interactions in the morning, and mention that she's been making you uncomfortable. In the meantime, I suggest you relax. I don't think she's doing it to be malicious." Tanaka said.

"Whatever. I can't wait for this internship to be done." Katsuki said, and turned to leave.

"Is there anything else that's been making you uncomfortable here, Bakugou?" Tanaka asked.

"I'm already set up to work at H.T.S. after I graduate. My mom pushed me into coming to this place." Katsuki told him.

"Then maybe you can look at this as a fun learning experience. Get as much knowledge, feedback, and connections as you can here. Make the most of it." Tanaka suggested with a smile.

"Whatever." Katsuki said as he walked off. _Why would I want connections at a place that laughs off sexual harassment? Idiots._

11.

April 7th, Saturday, 9:00 PM

Yurei felt strange being in the commons alone.

Everyone else was gone for their internships, so she was pretty much the only one left in the building. She'd already finished her homework for the weekend, and she felt happy and content with how her internship went that day. Mermaid Heel was much more down to earth than she expected.

As she lay stretched out on the couch, debating what to do, her phone rang, and she immediately answered without looking at who it was.

"Hey Yurei," Her father spoke, and she frowned, having thought that it was Katsuki. "I just wanted to check in with you. How is your internship going?"

"It's going really well. I worked on a community garden today, and met a lot of people. They were all really nice." Yurei said.

"That's great. After Orion not working out for you, I was worried about you." Her dad said, and there was a pause. "Your mom mentioned that you're dating Bakugou, now."

"Mom freaked out about it. We had an argument." Yurei said, and was glad that she was the only person there.

"She told me… she expressed concern about you." Her father said.

"She keeps obsessing over the surgeries, and it makes me really uncomfortable." Yurei said.

"She's just worried about you. The way you treated that girl at the competition really rattled her. You looked like a completely different person." Her father said.

"That girl stalked me for ten years. You remember those 'ghosts' I complained about when I was little? That was her, watching me. The only reason why she applied to UA was because she wanted to get revenge on me for Ikari, because she thinks that I stole him from her." Yurei explained.

"She sounds like a very unfortunate person." Her father said.

"If she was Katsuki, or some other guy, would you be saying that? If she was a body builder twice my size and stalking me, would you respond with 'oh, that's unfortunate'?" Yurei asked him.

"That's not what I meant, Yurei… but I do see your point."

"I don't want to talk about her. I have reasons to be upset with her, though, so just trust me. It wasn't an unprovoked fight. I don't plan on doing any more fights like that, and if I hadn't been stabbed, the other fights would have been clean." Yurei told him.

"... alright." Her dad said uneasily.

"Katsuki is nice. I'm learning a lot from him, we work well together, and he makes me feel good about myself. I like him." Yurei said.

"Does he treat you well?" He asked.

"Yeah, he treats me well. He's annoying sometimes, but it's nothing I can't handle." Yurei said.

"Be careful with him."

"I'm more worried about Katsuki right now. Katsuki is doing an internship with Hana, and she keeps doing things to make him uncomfortable. I'm worried that she'll do something, and he'll feel like he can't say 'no' or protect himself." Yurei admitted.

"Already jealous, Yurei?" Her dad chuckled.

Why couldn't anyone be mature about this?

"I don't know why I try to talk to people about serious issues anymore. How is your day going?" Yurei asked.

"My day was going great, until your mother came to me crying about you." Her dad said.

"I don't know what to do about that, dad, and I'm honestly frustrated with her right now. I don't want to discuss my sex life with her." Yurei told him.

"She's just-"

"I'm the one that got stabbed the other day, why do I have to bend over backwards to make her feel okay? Shouldn't she be the one to alter her behavior to make me feel more comfortable?" Yurei asked.

"She's your mother, Yurei. I know you're frustrated, but she cares about you. She's just worried about you." Her dad said.

"That doesn't change the fact that she keeps reminding me about Ikari whenever I talk about Katsuki. I'm moving on, I'm learning to trust people again, I'm making friends, I'm getting good grades, I'm getting stronger, I'm working- why can't you two be happy? Katsuki makes me feel safe." Yurei asked him, and sighed tiredly.

"... I'm sorry, Yurei, you're right. I know that you're doing the best that you can, and I should trust you more. I'll talk to your mother." Her father said.

"... I'm sorry, too. I'm just… I'm frustrated. I saw Hair Element this morning." Yurei said.

"Your favorite hero of all time? That's wonderful! Are you still star struck, even after all of those classes with her?" Her dad asked excitedly.

She thought about telling him the truth, but he didn't need more reason to be worried about her.

"Yeah, she's still my favorite. She recognized me, too, since I got such high marks in her class." Yurei said.

12.

April 8th, Sunday, 6:00 PM

Katsuki was annoyed as he stood in the locker room, an hour after his work day ended.

Hana spilled some kind of weird soda all over him. Not just a little- it sprayed all over his face, his shirt, his pants- everywhere. And she'd already been obnoxious before, running them overtime. The hotel was a fifteen minute walk, otherwise he'd wait until he got back there.

Refuge Drama offered him some clothes, some shitty sweatpants and loose t-shirt with the agency logo on them, and said he could use the locker room shower. Apparently, whatever the fuck Hana spilled on him was thick, gross, sticky, and would never get out of his clothes.

Talking to HR had been a fucking mistake. Hana was worse, now, and he couldn't do shit to stop her. Whenever he tried to take her hands off of him, she'd cry and say that he hurt her.

_I could just quit._

The idea pissed him off, though. He signed a fucking contract, and Katsuki wasn't a fucking quitter. If he could keep a straight face after that stupid lap dance, he could keep a straight face after this bullshit.

Curses continuously left his lips as he took the towel off, and began changing into the dry, clean clothes. Once he was changed, he opened his locker to pull his bag out, but found that it was gone. He stood there for a moment, staring at the empty locker, and then checked the number. Then, he started opening the lockers around it, wondering if he'd just been stupid and left it in another one.

"Looking for something?"

The voice caused him to jump, and he looked over, finding Hana at the end of the bench, with his bag next to her.

"Give me my fucking bag." Katsuki ordered.

"That scar on your leg is really sexy." Hana said, and opened her jacket. She wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Give me my fucking bag you cunt." Katsuki spat, and his hands sparked.

"If you do anything, I'll tell people that you dragged me in here and tried to rape me." Hana said.

"There are security cameras outside the fucking locker rooms, you idiot. They'll see that you came in here after me." Katsuki pointed out.

"... then I'll tell them that I really, really like Katsuki, a-and," She stuttered, and made her eyes water. "And then, h-he took advantage of m-me. I had a crush on h-him, I really liked him, a-a-and he-"

"That's fucking bullshit." Katsuki told her, projecting his voice in the acoustic room. She smiled and tilted her head to the side, her eyes clearing up and pout disappearing. "What the fuck do you want, psychopath? What the hell are you?" Katsuki asked her.

"What I want to do, Katsuki, is what I wanted to do in that closet."

Katsuki's chest clenched painfully, recalling what she'd tried to do. She'd knelt down in front of him, and tried to take his belt off.

"Stay the fuck away from me." Katsuki told her.

"What kind of man doesn't want a blow job, Katsuki? Seriously? Are you gay, or something? Because, I mean… you could just fantasize about a man during it. I won't take offense." Hana said.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Katsuki asked, and took a step back.

"I, want… Yurei to feel as much pain as I felt, watching Ikari go to her, everyday after school. And… I think that sucking the cock of her boyfriend would be a really good way to do that. And I mean, if you don't let me, then I'll tell everyone that you raped me, and you could get serious jail time. My dad's a police officer, and he has a lot of connections. Your days as a hero would be over." Hana threatened.

"LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" Katsuki shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Katsuki, are you okay?" A voice came from the door, and a wave of relief washed over him. "Is it okay for me to come in?"

"Yeah, come in." Katsuki said, and kept his eyes locked with Hana, who narrowed her eyes at him.

"What the fuck are you doing in the men's locker room, Hana?" Yurei snapped, and although Katsuki couldn't see her, he was relieved to hear her voice.

"I was just watching Katsuki's bag for him, and enjoying a nice view." Hana said, and looked at Katsuki in a way that made him want to vomit. She looked him up and down, smirking slightly, and winked at him.

"Get the fuck out of here before I call security on your ass." Yurei told her.

"Bye, Katsuki. I had fun." Hana said, and added another wink with her wave as she walked off.

Yurei rounded the corner, coming into view, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief, his muscles slowly releasing tension.

"Did she hurt you?" Yurei asked, after the door closed, indicating that Hana had left.

"She is a fucking psychopath." Katsuki said, and sat down on the bench, trying to catch his breath. He ran his fingers through his hair, gripping at his skull, and struggled with the range of emotions that were unleashed inside him.

"_You want more candy, don't you?"_

"_Why are you such a pervert?"_

"Did you try talking to HR?" Yurei asked, and when he heard a sound near him, looked up to see that she'd brought over his bag.

"Last night. It made her worse." Katsuki said.

Yurei knelt down in front of him, and moved her hands across his arms, gently stroking his sensitive skin. His hands were trembling.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Katsuki asked her.

"Part of girlfriend privilege means that I can show up at your work. I was waiting by the front desk for a half hour, before some guy said that you were in here, cleaning up." Yurei told him.

He didn't want to think about what would have happened if she hadn't shown up.

"You should quit." Yurei said suddenly, and he looked up at her. "Going to HR didn't help. UA counselors won't help. Just quit. Distance yourself from her."

"I signed a contract, Blue Hair Girl. I can't bail." Katsuki told her.

"You also signed a contract with H.T.S., saying that if they need your assistance, they can call you up at any time. I'll ask my dad if he can get you for the next few weekends. Since the botched raid, they've been needing help, so it won't seem weird. I also told my dad that the stripper thing made you uncomfortable, and so they won't give you tasks like that, and they won't be weird. They're professional and can be discreet." Yurei told him.

"I can deal with my own shit. I don't need your help." Katsuki said, and hated all the words bouncing around in his skull. "I don't fucking need you."

"I know." Yurei said, and he looked down at her, into those hypnotizing hazel eyes. "You're very strong and capable of fighting her off. You're capable of killing her, even, but that won't help you. Unfortunately, I don't think official channels will work. Letting me help will mean involving less people."

"My mom will be pissed." Katsuki pointed out.

"When is she not?" Yurei asked.

He sighed again, and looked at her shoulder.

"And if my dad does it through H.T.S., then she won't know that it was your decision. She'll think that the agency you're planning to work for asked you to come in." Yurei pointed out.

"Fuck you, alright? I don't need your fucking help or some shit. You're an ugly piece of shit, and I don't care about you. I only agreed to date you so that I could fuck you. You and your dad can go fuck yourselves." Katsuki spat at her, anger rising in his chest.

"Do you want to add my mother for safe measure?" Yurei asked, seeming completely unfazed.

Katsuki paused, blinking at her, and wondered why she wasn't yelling back.

"Did you hear what I said?" Katsuki asked her.

"Yeah, and that's not the worst things people have said to me this week. I can feel what you're feeling right now. You're all over the place and you're lashing out. That's okay." Yurei said.

"You shouldn't let people get away with that shit. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Katsuki asked.

"Whatever Hana said or did scared the hell out of you, and you're freaking out. The only reason why she's going after you is to torment me, which makes this my fault. It's okay if you need to yell and vent at me to feel better. I know that you're just scared." Yurei described, and he didn't know how to feel about that.

Katsuki sighed, sliding his hands into his hair as he lowered his head.

"It's going to be okay. Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay." Yurei said, continuing to caress his trembling arms. He wanted to stay mad, to stay angry, but her gentle touch seemed to zap that anger out of him.

Each caress took away a little more anger and frustration out of him, as if she was absorbing the raging emotions inside of him.

"Are you using your quirk on me?" Katsuki asked.

"No. You're calming down on your own." Yurei said. He slowly focused on his breathing, quietly coming down, and started to crave her soft hands.

Gently, he took one of her hands, and gave it a kiss.

"Let me know when you're calm enough to head out. I'm pretty hungry." Yurei said, and he smiled, keeping his eyes closed as he held her hand against his cheek. She might be an idiot sometimes, but she was his idiot.

13.

April 9th, Monday, 6:00 AM

Yurei tried to stay calm as she showed up to class the next morning.

Hana was there, smirking at Yurei and winking at Katsuki, which got him riled up.

As they started the usual stations, Yurei and Katsuki happened to start at the sparring area. To her annoyance, Hana and Momo were at the weight lifting area nearby, discreetly watching them. Yurei was about to ask what move they were going to practice, when suddenly she was jabbed in the rib cage and had her arm twisted behind her, painfully.

"Ga-ahaha," Yurei breathed in pain, and grit her teeth in pain. "I've been out of practice for a week, Katsuki, go easy on me."

"No." Katsuki said, and Yurei blinked in confusion when she felt something.

Arousal… but not Katsuki's.… either Momo or Hana were extremely aroused by that.

After releasing her, Katsuki ran at her again, with no warning, doing the double hit to her abdomen, and series of moves that led to her being slammed into the ground. Yurei glanced over at the two girls, and Hana's eyes were wide and creepy.

… she was really, really aroused by that. Katsuki was such an angsty ball of angst that day, so Yurei was amazed that she was able to sense it from there.

Katsuki moved off of her, none too gentle, and she pushed herself up. For a while, they sparred, until they were sent to the next station. As the class went on, Yurei discreetly watched Hana, curious about the way she'd reacted before. The more she paid attention, the more she realized that Hana wasn't just aroused by fighting. She was aroused whenever any girl experienced pain, including Momo.

When Katsuki and Yurei were jogging around the gym, she came to a realization.

"Stop slacking off." Katsuki barked at her, so she sped up, trying to keep up with him. He was a little more of an asshole than usual that morning.

When the class took a water break, Yurei followed Hana over to the water fountain, with everyone else.

"Hey, Hana," Yurei spoke in a sweet voice, and tapping on her shoulder. "Do you mind if we chat for a minute after getting water?"

"Of course." Hana giggled. The line moved, and after they got a sip of water, they went aways from the fountain, out of earshot of most of the students.

"I have a question for you." Yurei said.

"Fire away." Hana replied.

"Do you realize that you're gay?" Yurei asked.

Hana's girly smile fell, and she just stared up at her for a moment.

"I'm not gay." Hana said.

"Yeah, you are. I have an emotions quirk, and I started paying attention to you in class today. You get really aroused when you see women in pain. It's not a super rare kink, and I can ask my mom about getting you in contact with some lesbian BDSM dens, if you want." Yurei suggested.

Hana just stared at her, unmoving, for several seconds.

"I also remembered how, in about third grade, I had this incident in class. I went to hug Ikari, and since he was young and couldn't control his quirk yet, he accidentally activated it while we were hugging. He accidentally stabbed me. I started screaming and crying, he started screaming because he didn't know what was happening, the other students started screaming. There I was, covered in blood and in a lot of pain, in front of the entire class… and then I remember this one girl, who didn't seem scared, and she just stared at me with this weird look on her face." Yurei added.

Hana still seemed to be stuck, frozen in a state of shock.

Her mind seemed to be processing what she was saying.

"I… but, no… I…" Hana stammered, and trailed off. After almost a full minute of saying nothing, Yurei was about to ask her if she was okay, when she suddenly started screaming at the top of her lungs. Hana full on sprinted out of the room, all the while screaming bloody murder, and Yurei could hear her well down the hallway, down the stairs, and out the building.

"Kasai, release your quirk." All Might told her as he approached.

"I didn't touch her. That's all her." Yurei said, and tried not to smile. She'd been right, and that also explained a lot of things.

"Then why is she screaming? What did you do?" All Might asked her.

"I asked her if she was gay, and she realized I was right. Today is the day that Hana Kojo realized she is a lesbian." Yurei explained, and he gave her a weird look. All Might went back and forth between the door and Yurei, piecing together the puzzle.

"... so all this time… she just…?" All Might asked, and Yurei nodded. "Do all lesbians do that?"

"Nope." Yurei answered.

They could still hear her screaming outside.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_Kisses_

April 9th, Monday, 12:00 PM

At the end of classes for the day, Katsuki and Yurei went back to the dorms. It was raining outside, and they got drenched in the warm water.

As they hurried inside, holding hands, Yurei was about to head over to the shower room, when Katsuki pulled her back. At the abrupt turn, she accidentally bumped into him, and blushed heavily at the contact.

She looked up into his beautiful red eyes and cocky smirk, only slightly irked that he seemed so smug. He put an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her, hungrily tasting her lips. After a moment she pulled back with a smile.

"What are you doing? We're getting water everywhere, and I feel disgusting. I'm exhausted from class." Yurei said, but he simply leaned down to kiss her again.

She chuckled into the kiss, enjoying his lips, but pulled away. He'd been a bit… frustrated, for a lot of class. As they stood near the doorway kissing, she felt like the situation was too surreal. Katsuki Bakugou, kissing her? In public, no less?

"Do you want to go back to my room?" Katsuki whispered huskily in her ear.

"No, I need to take a shower, because I'm super gross right now and my hair soaked up a ton of water." Yurei told him, and he rolled his eyes.

"You know I really want to spray them, but they're too cute." Hanta said as he walked passed with some other classmates. Katsuki sent him a glare.

"Fuck off." Katsuki told him.

"Don't make out in the middle of the doorway if you don't want feedback." Hanta replied easily as he continued to the boys side of the dorms. Yurei phased through Katsuki's arms, causing him to give her a death glare, and she simply gave a small wave before gliding over to her room.

1.

April 9th, Monday, 7:00 PM

That night, they did the traditional dinner and a movie date, and Katsuki was annoyed by how nervous he was. After the movie started, he disappeared into the bathroom, to try and calm down.

He looked at himself in the mirror and glared. His heart was racing, palms sweaty, everything sweating. He kept thinking about all the dumb advice that the guys gave him before tonight, along with how that turned out with Tenya on his date with her.

_Get your shit together._ He mentally scolded, and slapped himself in the face again. A slimy, wet, substance covered his cheek. He cursed, pulled out another dozen paper towels, and started to wipe his hands and face off again. He tossed the used towels into the garbage bin, to join the dozens of other explosive paper towels.

Half the bin was filled with paper towels covered in his sweat and-

Katsuki suddenly froze, his eyes going wide.

… he accidentally created a bomb. While his date was watching the movie, he'd accidentally filled that bin with explosive material. All of those paper towels were covered in the chemicals he used for his explosive quirk.

One spark, and this entire bathroom was gone.

_What are the chances that some asshole will light it up?_

Then, he thought to all the smokers outside.

_Shit._

His hands were sweaty again, and he glared down at them, wishing that he had thought to bring his small grenades with him. He could have filled ten of them at this rate.

_Shit, I also cover Yurei with this crap when I touch her._

Gloves, maybe?

_No._

… she would need to take more showers and be a bit more cautious. He looked back to the large bin half filled with explosive residue, and debated on what to do.

_This is everyone at the dorms' fault, not mine. Those shitheads._

2.

April 9th, Monday, 7:30 PM

Yurei was a bit worried when Katsuki didn't come back. He'd been gone for at least a half hour.

She took their bucket of popcorn and left the theater, careful of other people along the way, and opened the door into the main hall. As she got outside, she heard yelling, and recognized one of the voices.

"I WASN'T TRYING TO BOMB YOU ASSHOLES, YOU'RE A FUCKING MORON!" Katsuki was shouting at the top of his lungs, and she found him in the main theater lobby, pointing at the guy behind the counter. Nearby, there was a terrified police officer cowering in fear.

"I'm going to need back up." Yurei heard the police officer say into a radio.

Katsuki was still yelling about bombs and killing people, so Yurei walked over and tapped his cheek, using her quirk to calm him down. She used it for a few seconds, and then deactivated it.

"What's going on?" Yurei asked.

"Nothing, this guy is just an idiot." Katsuki scoffed.

"Don't worry, sir, everything is fine, my date is just energetic." Yurei told the police officer, whose eyes were wide in fear as he looked between them.

"HE LEFT A BOMB IN THE BATHROOM! HE'S A TERRORIST!" The guy behind the counter yelled with an accusatory finger pointed at Katsuki. Before Katsuki could start yelling again, she leaned in, taking his arm, and addressed the popcorn guy.

"Please stop yelling. If you calmly explain what happened, I'm sure that we can figure it out." Yurei said in a calm, slightly cutesy voice.

"He put explosives in the bathroom garbage bin. He came out here warning me that it could explode." Popcorn guy said in a calmer voice, but was still nervous, wary about Katsuki yelling again.

"Why are there explosives in the bathroom?" Yurei asked as she looked up at Katsuki. He looked away, his cheeks red, and didn't answer her.

She went for his hand, but when she reached for it, recoiled, feeling all of the goo that had accumulated.

"Did you accidentally make a bunch of extra explosive stuff with your quirk, or something?" Yurei asked. He still wouldn't meet her stare

"There is a bomb squad on the way." The police officer said, and when turned his way, the officer trembled in fear.

"There's no fucking bomb. You're all being stupid." Katsuki said, lowering his voice from before. He was really embarrassed by whatever was going on.

"Did you get nervous and wipe your hands on a paper towel, and that's what's explosive?" Yurei asked.

Katsuki didn't answer. She turned back to the police officer. "We're on our first date. Katsuki has a quirk to create explosives with his sweat. He was probably nervous-"

"I DON'T GET NERVOUS." Katsuki shouted.

"-and accidentally got his explosive sweat somewhere in the bathroom. So long as you don't have any open flames in there, it should be fine." Yurei calmly explained, and the police officer looked between them.

Yurei looked over, and realized that Katsuki was glaring at him. She reached up to the top of his head, ruffling his hair, and used her quirk to calm him down again. He gave her a half glare, unable to be actually annoyed at her, and grunted as she ruffled his hair again.

"So you literally sweat explosive material?" The officer asked, no longer seeming terrified for his life.

"Yes he does." Yurei answered for him.

Katsuki grunted.

3.

April 9th, Monday, 9:30 PM

It took two hours to get everything straightened out, since a bomb squad and back up police officers had arrived on the scene. They removed the explosives, and Yurei stayed with Katsuki to talk for him. Every time Katsuki tried to talk, he made things worse.

On their walk back to the dorms, Katsuki went quiet, stuffing his hands into his pockets and glaring at the ground. There was the slight sprinkle of rain in the cool night air, and most of the stars went unseen.

"Well, that was exciting." Yurei said with a smile.

"Shut up." Katsuki grumbled.

She'd never seen him so embarrassed before, and he actually looked pretty cute. The big hair, red cheeks, and scowl was strangely adorable.

"It could have been worse. You could have gotten shot." Yurei said, and he grunted. "It'll be a fun story, too. You were so nervous that you almost blew up half the building. It's cute."

"Shut up." Katsuki grumbled, his face getting redder.

"So is there anything I need to know about your quirk? Should I stay away from open flames after we make out?" Yurei asked.

"... only if I sweat a lot… most of the time it's not an issue. If I get a lot on you, you should shower to get it off." Katsuki said.

"Is it like Mina's quirk, where creating it usually happens on purpose, but sometimes a little extra will come out throughout the day?" Yurei asked, and he nodded. "Good to know."

There was a small awkward pause.

"So why were you so nervous about tonight? Were you going to make a big move on me, or something?" Yurei asked.

He didn't answer, but he did get more anxious.

"Since we're banned from the movie theater, I guess we'll just have to watch movies at the dorms. We could watch a movie in my room, after you clean up." Yurei said.

"It's too late for a movie. I'm just going to bed when we get back." Katsuki said.

"Just so you know, I'm not upset or anything. I still had a good time, all things considered. We also met a lot of new people." Yurei said.

"Just shut up already." Katsuki grumbled. When they came up to the dorms, she phased them through the first pair of doors, and he rushed to the second pair, practically running to his room.

Yurei was more casual as she walked in, and looked over at Mina and Eijirou on the couch. They seemed to be studying.

"Bad date?" Eijirou asked.

"Katsuki's embarrassed. I'm not really sure how to make this better." Yurei admitted.

"What happened?" Mina asked. Yurei went over to sit on the couch with them, and explained what happened.

They both burst into laughter.

4.

April 10th, Tuesday, 10:00 AM

The next day in Chemistry, Katsuki casually lounged in his seat, already excited for the class to be done. He needed to think of a way to fix this.

"Blow up any bathrooms today, Bakugou?" Eijirou grinned as he made his way to his seat.

The blood drained from his face.

He was going to kill her.

5.

April 10th, Tuesday, 12:30 PM

As Katsuki stormed into the commons, he locked eyes with Yurei, who was sitting on one of the couches with her cousin, Mirio. Kyoka and Denki were also there, grinning as they watched the TV.

"What the fuck have you been telling people!?" Katsuki shouted from across the room, and she jumped in surprise, but then smiled at him.

"Nothing that's not already being said on the news. Our date is on TV." Yurei said, and his eyes widened in horror. She nodded her head to the TV in front of them.

"That's not fucking news worthy." Katsuki grumbled as he hurried over to see the screen. The dumb popcorn guy was on screen.

"It was so scary, like, this guy came out of nowhere, screaming about how he was going to blow up the theater, and like, I freaked the hell out, cuz this guy is screaming and freaking out, and then I called the cops on him, and even they were terrified of this guy. He was like 200 lbs of muscle and looked like he could wipe the floor with me."

Katsuki gave a low growl, and made his hands spark. _I should have._

"Do you know who this person was?" The interviewer asked him.

"Bakugou, that crazy guy from UA. Anyway, he was yelling about blowing shit up, I was scared, the cop was scared, and then this hot girl came out of nowhere. She strolled right up to this guy threatening to kill everyone, and then suddenly he was super quiet. She explained that he just got nervous, and he sweats nitroglycerin, or something? Anyway, now that some time has passed, I kind of feel bad for the guy. He was just going on a date and got nervous, when he freaked out. I've definitely been there."

Kyoka, Denki, and Mirio were all snickering and giggling.

"No harm done tonight, but another example why it's important for people with chemical quirks to be cautious. One mistake and the entire building can go up in flames. Back to you, Temi." They switched to talking about something dumb, so Katsuki went back to glaring daggers at the giggling group.

His hands kept sparking.

"Hey, sit with me." Yurei said, and patted the spot next to her

"Fuck off." Katsuki spat, and the others started laughing more. "SHUT UP OR I'LL MURDER ALL OF YOU!"

"Please sit down with me?" Yurei asked him with a sweet smile.

"Fuck the hell off, loser." Katsuki told her, and pointedly sat at the other couch instead. She then got up from her spot, and he tensed. She walked over to him, turned, and sat on his lap.

His face heated up at the sudden contact, and as she leaned back against his chest, she tilted her head to look at him. He was momentarily awestruck by just how pretty her eyes were, and how perfect she felt on his lap.

"Sorry, is this spot taken?" Yurei asked. He glared, still upset that she told people about last night, but unable to think of a good way to respond.

So instead of replying, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a smothering kiss, pouring out his feelings that way. She squirmed slightly in his arms, probably not expecting the kiss, and he held her still.

After about half a minute, he pulled away from air, and looked into her startled eyes. He smirked at her.

Her wide startled eyes shifted to a glare. Suddenly, she wasn't in his arms anymore, and he watched in annoyance as she went over to sit next to her still laughing cousin.

"Whatever." Katsuki muttered, and went to his room.

6.

April 10th, Tuesday, 12:15 PM

Yurei let out a tired sigh, and rested her head against Mirio's shoulder.

Her mom had watched the news, and was now terrified.

"You're dating a terrorist, Yurei! He could have killed you!" Her mom yelled into the phone.

"It's fine, it was just a misunderstanding." Yurei told her.

"He sweats explosives! Does he actually sweat explosives, Yurei?! Are you dating a walking nuclear bomb?!"

"Mom, you're over exaggerating." Yurei said, and looked up at Mirio, who gave a sympathetic shrug. He could probably hear her.

"He sweats explosives! My aunt died in Hiroshima, Yurei!"

"Katsuki is not a nuclear bomb, mom." Yurei said.

"He's dangerous! After what Ikari did to you, why would you date someone who could blow you up from sweating too much!?" Her mother asked, and Yurei's heart fell at the mention of his name.

"Can you stop bringing him up, mom? I told you that it makes me uncomfortable." Yurei told her.

"I was there during your surgeries! I felt your pain! I don't want to feel that again, Yurei, and you're just setting yourself up to-"

Yurei hung up.

She rarely hung up on people, especially her mom.

"... she just cares." Mirio said lamely.

"Let's go get some food, I'm starving." Yurei said as she got up. They had planned to bring Katsuki, but since he was holing up in his room and she was hungry, they left without him.

7.

April 10th, Tuesday, 2:00 PM

After lunch and socializing with Mirio, Yurei went to Katsuki's door, and knocked. She leaned against the doorframe, hearing grunts from inside, and patiently waited for him to let her in. He was still upset.

The door suddenly opened, and she'd expected to see him in a hoodie, but was caught off guard by his shirtless appearance. A slight sheen of sweat covered his well trained body, his chest was taught, his biceps evident, and subtle six pack glistened deliciously in the light. He seemed to have been working out before she arrived.

Yurei froze, her mind going fuzzy, and she struggled to look up, into his smug face.

"Need something?" Katsuki asked.

She struggled to remember why she was there.

"Cat got your tongue?" Katsuki asked as he inched forward, seeming to feed off of her sudden fluster, and his eyes became more intense. Yurei flinched as water met her face.

Katsuki lurched forward, grabbing at something, and she looked over as he hit Denki over the head with a spray bottle. Denki was laughing hysterically as Katsuki shoved him away, and threw the spray bottle at him.

The piece of broken plastic bounced off of him, and flew down the hall. Denki laughed on his way down the hall and around the corner.

"Loser." Katsuki muttered.

Yurei looked away, down the other side of the hallway, and found that they were alone. Then, her face heated up again as she felt a pressure on her chin. Katsuki turned her to face him again, and his smoldering, entertained eyes caused her body to heat up.

"Nnnnng,"

Yurei sunk into the floor and glided to her room, phasing through everything to get there faster.

To her horror, Katsuki texted her a picture of him shirtless in his room, which made her head feel like it was ready to explode.

8.

April 10th, Tuesday, 2:30 PM

Katsuki waited a few minutes before putting a shirt on and walking over to Yurei's room. He knocked on the door, sporting a shit eating smirk and anticipating her beet red face again.

"Did you need something earlier?" Katsuki asked through the door.

"N-no!" Yurei stuttered.

He wanted to see her face. After that embarrassing bullshit from last night, and then Eijirou relentlessly making fun of him, he wanted to see her face react like that again.

"Let me in, weirdo." Katsuki told her, and glared at Ochaco and Tsu as they walked by.

"No thanks!" Yurei replied.

"It wasn't a request. Either let me in or I'm breaking your door again." Katsuki said.

"Nooooooo," Yurei groaned, and soon, her hand was reaching out to grab his shirt, pulling him in.

She quickly covered her face with her hands, and he reached over to turn the light on. She was making that weird sound she makes when she's upset, and getting close to being tipped over the edge.

"What? Am I too sexy for you to handle? Are you embarrassed?" Katsuki asked with a wolfish grin.

"Shut up." She said in a small voice.

"What? I can't hear you with your hands over your face." Katsuki said, and lightly grabbed her wrists, pulling them away from her face. She tried to fall to the ground, to hide again, but he wouldn't let her.

He twisted her, throwing her off balance, and caused her back to bump into his chest. Her body was so warm, and he loved the way she felt against him. He let go of her hands, letting them go back to her face, and let his own hands wander up and down her sides.

He loved having his hands on her hips, pressing her into him.

"Nnnnnnnnnnn," The weird sound was coming from her, still. He smirked as he went for her neck, enjoying the fact that she hadn't phased out of his arms yet. He liked pushing her boundaries and limits, to see what she can handle.

He kissed the warm skin, and ventured one of his hands to her breasts, when she shuddered out a gasp. She suddenly leaned into him, removing her hands from her face.

He lathered her neck with kisses, leading up to her ear, where he whispered, "Do you want to see me shirtless again?"

Her sound changed slightly, the pitch and volume varying, and he gently squeezed her breast, causing her to gasp again. Her breathing was ragged and uneven.

He loved seeing her like this; he nipped at her neck, and she stopped making the weird sound all together.

"Y-You're just doing this to get payback." Yurei accused.

"That's not the only reason." Katsuki whispered against her skin, and her body shuddered deliciously in his arms.

"W-we should study for tomorrow's quiz." Yurei said.

"Not yet." Katsuki said, and as one of his hands kept kneading her wonderful breast, his other hand went to the hem of her shirt, delving his hands under to touch her tantalizing skin.

"L-let's study." Yurei stated more firmly, phasing out of his arms and going to the books on her desk.

"Fine." Katsuki said, and held back his disappointment.

He'd learned when to back off when he pushed her buttons a little too much. When he overstepped boundaries too much, she was more than capable of moving him out with or without his consent.

9.

April 11th, Wednesday, 6:00 AM

As they started class the next day, Yurei told Katsuki about the conversation with her father.

"He won't be able to get you for this weekend, but he will next weekend, and the following ones. You have to hold out at your current internship for another weekend." Yurei told him.

"Whatever." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"My dad is going through a lot of trouble to help you, Katsuki. I know it's a shitty situation but don't dismiss him like that. He's my dad." Yurei told him as they went over to weightlifting first.

"I never asked either of you to do that." Katsuki said, and let out an annoyed sigh. He'd been so damn stubborn and rude this week. She wasn't sure if it was because of Hana, or the movie, or a combination of both, but she was getting tired of it.

"Twenty reps, loser, and an extra five pounds." Katsuki said, and she frowned.

"That's going to be too much for me." Yurei pointed out.

"Too fucking bad." Katsuki retorted.

10.

April 11th, Wednesday, 12:00 PM

As lunch time rolled around, she let out a tired sigh. Katsuki was being obnoxious.

After the umpteenth time of him pulling at her hair, she sent him another glare, and walked off.

"Oi! Where are you going?" Katsuki barked at her.

"Text me when you stop being a dick." Yurei shouted over her shoulder.

"Whatever, dumb ass." Katsuki shouted back.

11.

April 11th, Wednesday, 2:00 PM

Yurei and her friends met up for soccer. There was no one else on the field, so they were able to use the goals and field without conflict.

"I'm so excited!" Mina screamed, and jumped on Yurei. "Have you played soccer before?"

"Only for PE in high school, and I was terrible at it. Whenever the ball flew at me, I'd phase through it." Yurei admitted.

"That's a good way to not get hit in the face." Mina said with a smile.

"Also a good way to get points for the other team." Yurei said.

"This is to try out your quirk, right Yurei? So we'll go easy today." Eijirou said.

"Fuck that. I'm not going easy on you." Katsuki said.

"I didn't ask you to come here." Yurei reminded him, and he grunted at her with a glare.

"So what exactly are you hoping to do, Yurei?" Eijirou asked.

The others started to stretch and warm up. Eijirou, Mina, Hanta, Denki, Toru, Ochaco, Tsu, Deku, Momo, Mineta, and Katsuku had agreed to play soccer with her, to help with her quirk.

"Phasing things while they're moving fast. I'm hoping to try and kick the soccer ball, starting to phase it and then solidify it, in order to increase the power of the kick and make the ball move faster. Smaller things are difficult. " Yurei explained.

"Wait, so you can phase larger objects better than smaller ones?" Eijirou asked.

"People are easier, because I can sense them with my second quirk. Inanimate objects are difficult because I can't sense them." Yurei explained.

"Huh! Weird! I mean, weird but cool." Eijirou said.

"So why not just kick at the goal by yourself? Is there a reason why you wanted to do this as a group?" Hanta asked.

"It seemed more fun." Yurei answered with a shrug.

"Good enough for me! How are we splitting up teams?" Denki asked.

"Guys vs girls?" Mineta suggested.

"No way." Yurei said.

"Yes way! We can kick their asses!" Mina shouted in determination.

"I don't want to play against Deku, Katsuki, and Eijirou." Yurei said with a frown.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Ultimate challenge!" Mina said, and pumped her arms into the air.

"WE WILL CRUSH YOU!" Katsuki yelled.

"BRING IT, ASSHOLE!" Mina shouted back with just as much intensity.

The other girls started to get pumped, yelling with the guys about how they would win, and the teams were made.

Unfortunately, with everyone being so excited to play, they were really intense. For whatever reason everyone got extremely competitive, kicking the ball really hard, and Yurei unfortunately kept phasing out of reflex. Katsuki used that to his advantage multiple times.

He'd make that face, kick the ball at her as hard as he could, expecting it to go through to someone on the other side. After the fourth time, though, she came up with an idea.

When he made that dumb angry face, yelling a battle cry, and kicked it at her, she stayed solid, and jumped, so that it would hit her shoulder. She tried to phase it, but as the ball bounced, it exploded.

She flinched as small pieces flew everywhere, and a small piece got in her eye.

"Woah! You okay!?" Multiple people asked as they ran to her.

She rubbed her eye, getting the small piece out, and nodded.

"I'm fine." Yurei said.

"Must have been a faulty ball." Hanta commented.

"I've got a back up!" Eijirou said, running to the sidelines.

Soon, the game started again.

12.

April 11th, Wednesday, 11:30 PM

There was no one in the field that night.

She went to a store a few blocks away, and bought about twenty soccer balls. She told the cashier that she was going to be playing a game with her friends, and they were a little brutal on the balls when they used their quirks. They went through about four in the game they played that afternoon.

Yurei went by herself that night; she tried just kicking the ball around, trying a few fancy kicks she'd seen the others do that day, and phasing it when it was still. She couldn't phase it when she was kicking, though.

Everytime, it came apart at the seems.

She wore gloves and did frequent finger checks.

"One, two, three and four, five, six, seven and eight, nine, ten, all is there." Yurei muttered quietly to herself, and tapped the tips of her fingers. Every so often, she muttered the words like a mantra, conscious of the consequences if she got this wrong.

Messing up her quirk would have dire consequences, and she didn't have anyone to fall back on this time. If she messed up her quirk, she could get expelled, and worse.

13.

April 12th, Thursday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, as Katsuki waited by the door, he was surprised to not see Yurei come down the stairs with her usual yawn. Instead, she walked down the hallway, with a cup of coffee in her hands. There were bags under her eyes.

"You wake up early, or something?" Katsuki asked. She shrugged. "You ready?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

14.

April 12th, Thursday, 1:00 PM

That afternoon, Katsuki waited outside of Yurei's last class. He messed around on his phone while he waited, and when the students poured out, he put his phone away, and searched the students for her face.

When his eyes landed on her, she narrowed his eyes slightly, and he frowned.

"What the hell is your problem?" Katsuki asked as he pushed from the wall, and started to walk next to her.

"You've been a jerk this week." Yurei said, and he scoffed.

"You haven't been that great, either." Katsuki said.

"Because you've been a jerk." Yurei said, and sent him another glare.

"I'm less of a jerk when I'm with you. You calm me down and shit." Katsuki said.

"Then get more calm or do random nice things to make up for the mean things you say." Yurei said, and he grunted in annoyance.

"... like what?" Katsuki asked.

"Like… getting me candy, or open the door for me, or give me a compliment. If that's not enough ideas, google it." Yurei snapped.

"Are you on your period, or something?" Katsuki asked. To his further annoyance she phased, gliding away, and he sent her another glare. "What? It was just a question!" Katsuki yelled, and grunted again.

Some random guy snickered and shook his head next to him.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Katsuki snapped angrily.

"Never ask a girl if she's on her period. Go get her flowers and apologize." The guy said.

"Why should I apologize?" Katsuki asked.

"It's a girl thing. Trust me. Just say you are sorry and beg for forgiveness. I've known guys that get dumped for things like that." The guy instructed. He had a weird big nose.

… Katsuki hadn't really considered the idea that Yurei could get upset with him enough to break up with him. If they broke up, why the fuck would they keep training together?

_I mean, I would probably train the loser anyway… maybe…. _But their training had become more routine. She didn't rely on him much anymore, except for sparring, and Eijirou could easily replace him. His eye twitched as he walked.

The weird nose guy patted him on the back, and walked off. Katsuki pulled out his phone again, but this time, he called his mom. It rang a few times before she picked up.

"Why don't you call more often?" His mother snapped.

"I pissed off my girlfriend. I need advice." Katsuki said, ignoring her.

"Eh? You have a girlfriend!? Masaru! Katsuki has a girlfriend!" His mother shouted. His eye twitched as he heard his parents yelling at each other. "Who the hell would put up with your violent ass?!" His mother asked.

"Not to mention his language." His father added.

"It's Blue Hair Girl, and I pissed her off, so I need to make it up to her." Katsuki said.

"Eh? That Kasai girl?" His mother exclaimed.

"That's not going to last." His father said, and Katsuki's eye twitched again.

Katsuki hung up, muttering under his breath, and made his way to the flower shop down the street.

15.

April 12th, Thursday, 1:45 PM

She decided to practice in her room, instead of going to the field. She'd go at night, when she could be alone.

Yurei stood on one leg, balancing the ball on her knee, and went back and forth between keeping it still and bouncing it. She was still getting a handle on the weight and size of the object.

A knock came from the door, startling her, and she dropped it. She made an annoyed sound, and walked over to the door, deciding to open it instead of poking her head through. After swinging the door open, whoever, she paused and blinked in surprise.

Katsuki was standing there, with flowers, and looking extremely annoyed and awkward. The flowers were a mix of blues and purples, with some small white ones. The bouquet was pretty small, with a red and pink plastic covering.

"I got you flowers. Can you stop avoiding me?" Katsuki asked her with a scowl.

"What's wrong?" Yurei asked.

"I'm sorry about what I said. Here." Katsuki said, and held out the flowers to her. She took the flowers, and looked at him, confused by the sudden change of heart. "That's what you wanted, right?" Katsuki asked.

"Did I hurt your feelings earlier?" Yurei asked.

"No. I just don't want you to break up with me. It would look shitty if we lasted for less than a week." Katsuki said.

"I wasn't going to break up with you. I was just going to give you some space for a few days. I figured that you're going through something, and that maybe being alone would be better for you." Yurei said.

"It's not." Katsuki said.

Yurei let out a tired sigh.

"Well… I'm working on my quirk right now. It's not exactly fun." Yurei said.

"What are you doing?" Katsuki asked curiously, starting to relax.

Yurei hesitated to answer. … she usually didn't let people see her mess up with her quirk. She hadn't needed to practice it so much in a long time.

… and considering how judgmental Katsuki was about things….

He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"... it's in the works." Yurei said awkwardly.

"What is?" Katsuki asked. She chewed the inside of her cheek, anxiety tugging at her chest.

"You would make fun of me if I tell or show you." Yurei said.

"Probably." He agreed.

"But I need to work on it. If you're making fun of me, I can't do it around you." Yurei said.

"... what if I promise to not tell anyone about it?" Katsuki compromised.

Yurei sighed.

"Come on, I'll try not to judge. I'm really curious, now." Katsuki said.

"... try to be nice." Yurei caved, and he smirked as he walked past her. Then, he paused, staring at her plethora of various sports balls. Some of them were in pieces on the floor. She closed the door behind him.

"... did you rob a sportswear store?" Katsuki asked.

"... my quirk is a lot more… complicated, then I tell people." Yurei said, and he turned to look at her. He had an expressionless face, seeming indifferent so far. "... it's difficult to use, especially with objects, and especially if they're moving. If I mess up… the object gets torn apart."

She indicated to the pieces on the ground.

"Is there that same risk when you phase people?" Katsuki asked.

"Not really. The only problem I've had is making sure to phase the other person's clothes and anything they're carrying. It took me a long time to be confident enough to phase another person." Yurei said.

"Why is a person different?" Katsuki asked.

"Everything is connected in a person. A ball is just a bunch of pieces. So… it's kind of like pasta and bread. With bread, everything is connected, so that when you pick up one part, the rest of it comes with it. With pasta, if you pick up part of it, it falls apart. Solid parts are easy, but not individual parts. If things are stable and unmoving, I've gotten better at picking it up, but solid connected things are a lot easier."

"Makes sense." Katsuki nodded.

16.

April 12th, Thursday, 4:00 PM

Katsuki watched quietly as she worked. He sat on her bed, working silently on his homework, while occasionally glancing up in her direction.

She was keeping something secret about her quirk, and he wanted to press her about it, but he didn't want to get kicked out. He was already on thin ice.

The way she worked was interesting, though. Every other time he's seen her use her quirk, she used it so casually and effortlessly, he assumed that her quirk was easy, like his. He had spent a lot of time perfecting his quirk, of course, but the fundamentals were easy enough. He just fucked around and had fun, thinking of ways to take down his opponents. Blowing stuff up was easy.

Yurei stood on one foot, doing a weird thing with her hands, and kept bouncing around the soccer ball on her knee with the utmost concentration. She was so focused on doing the same things over, and over, and over again, that it hurt his head just watching.

When the ball fell, he cleared his throat, getting her attention. That seemed like a safe time to interrupt her. "You should take a break, you've been at it for over two hours." Katsuki suggested.

"Not yet." Yurei said, and went back to it. She counted each of her fingers, lifted the ball to her knee, and started the process again.

17.

April 12th, Thursday, 8:00 PM

When Katsuki came back from getting dinner, he was startled to see Yurei on the floor, motionless. She lay at an awkward angle, with ball pieces around her, on her front.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Yurei said in a calm, emotionless voice.

"What the hell happened?" Katsuki asked.

"Sometimes when I overuse my phase quirk, my body gives up on me for a little while. I should be able to move in a few minutes." Yurei explained. Katsuki moved further into the room, closing the door behind him, and staring at her with an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"... does this happen a lot?" Katsuki asked.

"Only when I strain my quirk too much over a long period of time." Yurei said. Katsuki checked his phone for the time.

"So your limit is about six hours?" Katsuki asked.

"Of consistently stretching my quirk. If I'm phasing easier things, I can go for longer." Yurei answered. Seeing her like that, on the floor… it was so….

"Can I move you?" Katsuki asked.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

"Because you're freaking me out right now. I want to move you over to your bed, at least." Katsuki said.

"... it's safe to move me, if that's what you're concerned about." Yurei said.

Katsuki moved the bags of food over to the desk, and then went over, and knelt down next to her. He grabbed her shoulder, carefully moving her onto her back, and her head rolled in a sickening way. Her hazel eyes looked up at him, cold and emotionless, as if her mind was elsewhere.

He moved one hand under her knees, and the other under her lower back, and pulled her into his arms. As he stood up with her, he was cautious with her, making sure to not accidentally injure her. He moved her over to her bed, gently laying her down, and put the pillow under her head.

"I'm fine, really. This is part of the reason why I practice alone." Yurei said.

"Are there any other side effects to your quirk that I should know about?" Katsuki asked.

"Nothing you need to know." Yurei said, and he stood there for a moment, watching her.

_So with her emotions quirk, if she over uses that, she needs to eat or else she'll lapse into a coma. With her phase quirk, she'll become temporarily paralyzed. _Both of those were significant side effects, and he wondered how open she was about the second one to her teachers.

"Is it like exhaustion? You overuse your quirk so you get tired and fall down?" Katsuki asked.

"Not exactly. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a psychological thing, to be honest. Phasing requires a lot of concentration, and after doing it for so long, my mind forces myself to stop." Yurei said.

"So then why didn't you take a break when I suggested it?" Katsuki asked.

"Because I didn't want to." Yurei said simply, and he sighed.

"Have you told doctors about that little side effect?" Katsuki asked.

"When I was younger, I mentioned it to my doctor. He said that if it became a problem, to seek treatment, but that it was most likely psychological, rather than a physiological thing. My parents made sure that I visited the doctor a lot when I was younger, to make sure my quirks didn't have any side effects. Since it's so rare to have someone with multiple functioning quirks, they and the doctors wanted to be cautious." Yurei explained.

Katsuki briefly thought back to the funeral they went to.

That widow that cried on Yurei, saying that she was "blessed," and needed to use her quirk to help people. He remembered thinking how awkward that was, and how weird it was for someone to say that to Yurei.

He wondered how many people had said that to her in her life. That, she had to use her quirk to its full potential, and save lives, because of how unique and powerful her quirks were. That pressure combined with the pressure to not use her mother's quirk like she did, to use it completely differently and establish herself as a hero rather than the daughter of a pornstar, must put a lot of pressure on her to use her quirks in a specific way.

Katsuki had experienced some of that in his life. People praised him for his quirk ever since he discovered what it was. Everyone loved his quirk, followed him because of the power, and he'd grown accustomed to people fawning over it.

His quirk was explosive, though. Violent in nature. He sometimes got the "your quirk is amazing!" and "you're going to save a lot of people someday!" speeches, but they never seemed as intense as the ones he saw with Yurei.

The ones he'd seen were well meaning, but… there was a lot of intense pressure on her.

"You don't have to wait for me. You can start eating." Yurei said.

He walked over to the chair, but instead of eating, turned it towards the bed, sat down, and put his feet up by her leg.

"Did I tell you about the dumb dinner I'm going to tomorrow night?" Yurei asked.

"No." Katsuki answered with a frown.

"Endeavor invited Mirio, his parents, my parents, and me, to a fancy dinner. It's going to be weird. Endeavor is creepy." Yurei explained.

"Why is he doing a dinner?" Katsuki asked.

"He might be trying to recruit Mirio and I to his agency. That's my hope, anyway. I'm worried that he might try to propose a marriage with me and Shouto. He kept asking weird questions about my family and quirk at the competition, and Shouto has mentioned his obsession with dual quirked people." Yurei explained.

"Gross." Katsuki said, and grimaced at the idea of Yurei and Shouto together. His hands balled up into fists, grabbing at his shirt, and his jaw tensed. He remembered their kiss at that party.

"Don't worry, my parents are adamantly against arranged marriages." Yurei assured, and he relaxed slightly.

Her fingers started to move.

"I asked my dad if you could come, too, but unfortunately, only the people invited can show up." Yurei said, and after another half minute or so of wiggling, she was slowly able to sit upright.

18.

April 13th, Friday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, instead of training, they had a guest speaker talk to them.

Yurei ended up falling asleep during it, having stayed up all the previous night.

19.

April 13th, Friday, 6:00 PM

Yurei was nervous as she walked into the restaurant that night.

Her mother lectured her for the entire car ride. Her father awkwardly gave her sympathetic looks, having no power on the matter.

Mirio and his parents had arrived first, and were already seated. They were wearing nice suits and ties and dresses. Yurei took the empty seat next to Mirio, and looked around at the fancy restaurant. To her comfort, her father sat on her other side, rather than her mother.

It was a nice establishment. The waitresses wore kimonos, the ceiling was high, the decorations simple and reflective of modern Japanese architecture.

"Are you ready?" Mirio asked her in a low voice.

"I want this over. I have a bad feeling about this." Yurei said.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Mirio said.

20.

April 13th, Friday, 7:00 PM

By the time that she got back to the dorms, Katsuki had left.

Everyone had left.

She groaned and moaned, wanting her life to be over, and made her way to her room. Endeavor tried to set up an arranged marriage between her and Shouto, as she'd predicted, and he hadn't been subtle. He and her mother got in an argument, which resulted in Yurei's parents and her leaving early.

And then on the car ride back, her mother went back to lecturing Yurei about dating Katsuki.

Since she had her internship the following day, Yurei let out one final groan before passing out on her bed.

21.

April 14th, Saturday, 6:00 PM

The next day was Hero Appreciation Day, and Hero agencies all over the country were holding events to celebrate heroes.

At Mermaid Heel, they had day long events planned, and then a fun hero dinner planned that night. All heroes were paid overtime to attend all events. In Tokyo, they were holding a huge, live festival. They had famous heroes from all over the world go on air, talk about their fellow heroes, and play games.

Yurei participated in a parade in that town, donning her new costume, and stood on the parade float with the agency.

Mirio was one of the people that did the UA float, and he accidentally flashed a lot of people.

She got to show off her new costume, which was exciting, but she was tired of wearing the mask by the end of the day. Instead of wearing her full gray suit for the entire day, she took the sleeves and mask off. That way, she ended up with the leather straps and fancy buckles of her outfit, but didn't have the extra silver.

There was a buffet in the main room on the second floor, and round tables set up all over the room. A massive TV was displayed on the side of the room, showing the current heroes of the hour, Momentum and Ms. Joke.

Outside, the sun was slowly setting. Heroes of the Mermaid Heel Agency and their families enjoyed each other's company. There were a lot of kids there, absolutely ecstatic to be meeting heroes.

"So, Yurei," Sunshine, one of the heroes, spoke as she got food with her. "Do you plan on having a family someday?"

"I don't think I want kids, but I do want a partner. I want to buy a bunch of pets, but I don't know which kind yet. I really like fish." Yurei answered.

"Fish are no substitute for kids, Yurei. Don't you want to be a mom?" Sunshine asked.

"A mom for twenty beautiful fish and a snake, maybe." Yurei replied, and snickered at Sunshine's shudder.

"I hate snakes." Sunshine said.

"They're not for everyone, just like kids aren't." Yurei said, and once they were finished getting their plates together, they went over to a table near the TV.

"Yurei! You're on TV! You're one of the 'promising heroes' of 2019!" Starfresh exclaimed, and Yurei looked over at the big screen, just as they showed a clip of her fighting the nomus. It was the one where she was falling while Katsuki was attacking it with his quirk.

Most of the room stopped to clap for her, and she awkwardly smiled to them, before looking back at the screen.

"I had the privilege of working with the Ghost briefly at her school. UA has a lot of very promising students, but Kasai is one of the best, from what I saw. She has a similar phasing quirk to her cousin, Mirio, but also has a second quirk, being able to manipulate emotions of other people." Momentum spoke, and they showed a clip of her fight with Tenya, when she threw him off of the platform and clear across the field.

"She looks pretty strong, too! Strong, smart, and cute! She doesn't lose her clothes like her cousin, does she?" Ms. Joke asked.

"No, she seems to have more control over her quirk than her cousin, who is two years older than her. Kasai also worked with her father in H.T.S. a few months ago in attempt to rescue victims of human trafficking. The raid went south, but she ended up saving the lives of half their people. She saved over thirty people, including her father, who was shot, and her classmate, Bakugou. She was the first trained medical responder on the scene, and after taking out enemy fire, she applied first aid to those injured." Momentum explained.

"Wow! She also faced off against nomus, right? According to the staff at UA, during the attack she managed to take one of them out by herself, which is insane! When she teamed up with Endeavor and Bakugou, she helped kill an additional four nomus!" Ms. Joke added.

"For reference, the last time that nomus were involved in an attack, only Endeavor was able to kill them. These things are extremely powerful." Momentum said, and they showed a clip of a nomu from a previous event, when the nomus slapped powerful, professional heroes around like they were flies.

"Up next, on our list of up and coming heroes, is Kasai's cousin, Mirio! He's quite the heart throb, and gives quite a show!" Ms. Joke introduced, and they went on to explain his quirk and accomplishments.

"That was so cool!" Sunshine exclaimed nearby, and people started congratulating Yurei, making her smile.

"Was that you on the TV?" A little girl, no more than six, asked her. She was sitting next to Sunshine, with blond hair and matching brown eyes to Sunshine, and wore a cute pink dress.

"Yep! I helped out Momentum once, so now he talks me up whenever he gets the chance." Yurei said with an awkward smile.

The little girl gasped.

"You know Momentum!?" She asked.

"Yep." Yurei said, and her eyes went wide in awe.

"That's so cool!" The little girl exclaimed.

"Yurei," Starfresh spoke, getting her attention. "Your dad works at H.T.S., doesn't he?"

Yurei nodded, and then looked at the screen.

"... no numbers have been confirmed, but we just received word that the H.T.S. HQ and hero agency Nightcrawler were just attacked by the League of Villains. There are lot of dead and wounded. Everyone be careful right now. As we learn more, we'll keep you updated." Momentum said.

Yurei pulled her phone out, and called her dad.

With every ring, her heart sunk lower and lower.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

"Hello, I'm sorry for your missing your call. If this is Hoshi, don't worry, I probably left my charger at home again." Her father's voice said.

… he was either unconscious or dead. He always answered his phone. Always.

"I'm sure that he's okay. Don't worry." Sunshine assured.

"Is the League of Villains going to attack us, mommy?" The little girl asked.

"No, of course not, Tsuni." Sunshine assured, but the little girl just kept looking up at her with wide, watery eyes.

Yurei got up, and walked over to Tsuni, and knelt next to her.

"You're not scared of the League of Villains, are you?" Yurei asked in her kids voice.

"Y-yeah! They're scary!" Tsuni said.

"Well, you have nothing to worry about right now, because I'm here! Do you know what my quirk is?" Yurei asked her, and Tsuni shook her head. "I can… make people laugh by poking their nose."

"What!?" Tsuni laughed.

"It's true! If the League of Villains show up, I'll just poke their noses, they'll start rolling on the floor, laughing!" Yurei explained.

"Is your quirk like Ms. Jokes?" Tsuni asked.

"Ms. Joke is her favorite hero." Sunshine added.

"Ms. Joke is your favorite?" Yurei asked, and Tsuni nodded with a bashful smile. "Why is she your favorite?"

"She makes people happy! She has a happy quirk!" Tsuni said excitedly.

"Wow, her quirk does sound like mine! Do you want me to use my quirk on your mom?" Yurei asked, and the little girl nodded with a giant grin. Yurei looked up at Sunshine, and she checked that it was okay before continuing. Upon Sunshine's nod in consent, Yurei reached up, "boop"d her nose.

Instantly, Sunshine burst into laughter, and people turned to look at her, smiling and laughing along as well.

Tsuni screamed in excitement.

"Do it to me! Do it to me!" Tsuni exclaimed.

Yurei reached up, and booped her nose. Both her and her mother roared and giggled in laughter together, causing the people around them to laugh harder. Yurei smiled, and after a little while, released her quirk.

"You're my new favorite hero!" Tsuni giggled happily, and Sunshine was still trying to catch her breath.

"Your favorite hero? Just for booping your nose?" Yurei asked, and tapped her nose again, sending her into a giggling mess.

Yurei looked back over at the TV.

"... at least twenty confirmed dead at H.T.S., and fifteen confirmed at Nightcrawler. No casualties, yet." Momentum said.

No one left alive.

"Do it again!" Tsuni giggled.

"Do you want to see my other quirk?" Yurei asked.

"You have another quirk!?" Tsuni gasped, and Yurei nodded. "Sunshine, can you grab the apple on my plate?"

Sunshine nodded, but Yurei could see in her eyes that she knew what Yurei was doing. Tsuni was her distraction, for now.

Yurei took the apple, and looked Tsuni dead in the eye. "Okay, you need to hold this apple in your hands. Hold on tight, okay?"

"Okay!" Tsuni said, and when Yurei handed her the apple, she focused intensely on it. Yurei put a hand on her shoulder.

"Really concentrate on that apple, okay? Hold onto that apple no matter what. Even if your mom tries to take it, you keep it, okay?" Yurei instructed, and Tsuni gave a serious nod.

"Can I have that apple Tsuni?" Starfresh asked.

"No! I'm supposed to hold it!" Tsuni exclaimed heatedly.

"Make sure to watch that apple. No matter what, don't drop it, okay?" Yurei said, and Tsuni gave a determined nod.

As Tsuni stared, Yurei phased her, and the apple phased through her hands.

"Your quirk makes people drop apples!?" Tsuni exclaimed.

"Yep! I can nose boop happiness and make little girls drop fruit." Yurei confirmed with a grin.

"Are you really a hero!?" Tsuni giggled.

"What? Of course I am! Making people drop fruit is a very heroic quirk." Yurei defended.

"No it's not!" Tsuni laughed.

"You're hurting my feelings, Tsuni! How am I supposed to fight bad guys if no one believes in me?" Yurei said with a mock pout.

"Maybe you can work as a clown at hospitals! There's a lot of sad people there." Tsuni exclaimed, and the entire table erupted into laughter again.

"Your daughter thinks I'm a clown, Sunshine!" Yurei told her, and Sunshine started laughing even more.

"Get the kids out! THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS IS HERE!" Someone shouted by the stairwell entrance.

Everyone looked up in alarm. Yurei phased herself and Tsuni on instinct, hand still on her shoulder.

"I'll start getting kids to safety. Is there a place to take them?" Yurei asked Sunshine.

"Cleo! You start getting the kids to safety! All heroes go downstairs and keep the League of Villains there!" Starfresh yelled as she stood, and everyone leaped into action.

Just before Yurei let go of Tsuni, tiny spikes rose from the floor, moving like upside down rain.

Everyone froze in place.

Yurei used her quirk to knock Tsuni unconscious, and pulled her into her arms.

Blood dripped from the half inch pole that went from Sunshine's lower jaw, through her head, to the ceiling. Yurei phased out of the building, to the street, and saw a hero down the street, casually talking to a couple. Yurei hurried to him, and he looked up in alarm.

"Get her to safety and call back up! The League of Villains just attacked Mermaid Heel and there's a lot of dead! Everyone! Run!" Yurei explained and shouted, and pulled out her phone, creating a text to send out to everyone on her contacts list.

_Me: MERMAID HEEL DOWN. LEAGUE OF VILLAINS._

"You're not going back there!?" The hero said as Yurei moved away.

"Call back up!" Yurei reminded him, and he awkwardly held unconscious Tsuni.

22.

April 14th, Saturday, 6:20 PM

Katsuki was so fucking bored and annoyed. He wasn't on the damn "promising heroes" list. The most he was mentioned was when they talked about Yurei.

_At least the food isn't terrible._ Katsuki thought irritably, and popped another crab puff into his mouth.

Hana had stopped touching him, which was nice. He did a dumb parade float earlier, which was kind of fun, but he wished that Yurei was there. Up until the promising heroes list, he'd enjoyed watching the live taping at Tokyo.

His phone vibrated, so he pulled out his phone, and checked the new message.

_Blue Hair Girl: MERMAID HEEL DOWN. LEAGUE OF VILLAINS._

His eyes widened.

"I just got a text, saying that Mermaid Heel Hero Agency was just attacked!" Momentum said on the screen, and the people around him gasped in alarm.

Another text.

_Blue Hair Girl: THEY'RE GOING AFTER ORION NEXT, AND THEN SUZUKI. EVACUATE BUILDINGS. THEY HAVE AN INSTANT KILL QUIRK._

_Blue Hair Girl: EVERYONE AT HERO AGENCIES RUN BEFORE_

The dots disappeared.

_You better not be dead._

He was at Suzuki HQ.

"Everyone at Orion and Suzuki agencies evacuate the building immediately! I repeat, evacuate! The League of Villains are going to Orion next!" Momentum announced, and immediately everyone leaped into action around him.

Mermaid Heel was an hour drive from here.

Katsuki gripped his phone, and followed everyone out.

23.

April 14th, Saturday, 6:20 PM

Something made her solid and pulled her out of the wall, sending her tumbling onto the ground. She looked up, coming face to face with the League of Villains.

The crazed man with the hands on his body.

The person with a mix of dead looking flesh and pale skin stapled together.

The blond girl with rosy cheeks and creepy smile.

Twice, the person that could replicate anything.

Their shadowy teleporter. And then, a new person, that she didn't recognize. They were dressed in all black. She guessed that the new person was responsible for the spikes and unphasing her.

When she tried to phase, she couldn't.

"What a pretty girl! She's not that pretty. Do you want her dead, boss? Or leave her alive to torture her?" Twice said animatedly. Yurei got into a defensive stance.

The longer they were here, the more time everyone else had to run, and for reinforcements to get here.

"Looks like she's popular." The blond said, and pointed to Yurei's silent phone on the ground.

"You're all disgusting pieces of trash." Yurei told them. Twice lunged at her, and she dodged his initial hit, but as she stepped back, she stumbled on something. In seconds, he had her on the ground, her arm twisted back and his heavy boot on her back.

He could easily dislocate her arm, and was close to it, with this angle. Tears prickled her eyes, but wouldn't fall.

"Keep her alive. She's a classmate of Bakugou's." The hands guy said.

"What? Do you have a crush on him? Is that why you kidnapped him that one time?" Yurei asked, and watched as the blond girl went over to pick up Yurei's phone, and pout.

"You broke your phone, dummy." The blond said.

"How much did you hear, and who did you tell?" The stapled skin guy asked.

"Go to hell, you assholes killed my dad. Go fuck yourselves with whatever gay shit you're into somewhere else." Yurei said, and cried out in pain as her shoulder popped. She pressed her face into the ground, and grit her teeth, trying to muffle her sounds.

"What did you hear?" Hands guy asked, and crouched down next to her.

"That you like to eat dicks for breakfast." Yurei spat, and grit her teeth as Twice moved her arm around, causing more pain.

_I've had worse. Keep them occupied, keep them busy._

"I don't think Bakugou swings that way, but I can ask him in class on Monday. You want me to ask anyone else? You seem pretty obsessed with people in my class. I can't blame you, they are pretty attractive." Yurei rambled.

"She's distracting us." Shadow guy said.

"No, I love playing matchmaker when my arm is being pulled off. It's my favorite pass time. Ask anyone in my class." Yurei said.

"Funny, I like to spend my pass time ripping arms off! We should hang out sometime! We should never hang out." Twice said animatedly, and she held back her cry of pain as he moved around her arm again.

With his weight on her, she couldn't do shit.

"Go for the other arm." Hands guy instructed.

"Now we're talking. It'll be more impressive if I kick your asses with both of my arms out of commision. I love challenges." Yurei joked as Twice went for her other arm.

There was a hole in his glove. Thinking quick, she made him feel in love with her. Knocking him out wouldn't do much for her situation.

"Ooh, I feel butterflies! Not actual butterflies." Twice said above her, slowly pulling her left arm back.

"Same here, buddy. Let's get drinks sometime and chat about butterflies. Did you know that they hatch from crystalists, not cocoons?" Yurei asked.

"You have the same eyes as Bakugou. That same defiance." Hands guy said.

"So staring lovingly into boys' eyes is your pass time? You're one rainbow away from being the star of a gay parade. Or, maybe not, with your figure." Yurei told him.

"A girl after my heart! Can we keep her? Or toss her, whatever." Twice said above her.

"Thanks for the offer, but I already have a job as a clown for the local hospital. I'm all the rage in the cancer ward. My nose boops are legendary. Let me go and I can show you." Yurei said.

"'Nose boops'? That sounds adorable! That sounds dumb." Twice said.

The room suddenly got darker. Something was covering the windows.

"I used my quirk to cover the windows. Heroes have arrived." The new guy announced.

"Stay and have a party; the more the merrier. I've got a feeling that Twice is all the rage at parties." Yurei suggested.

"I am! I hate parties." Twice announced.

"Let's go. Leave her." Hands guy ordered.

Twice abruptly let go of her arms. Her right shoulder had gone numb, and the other was in pain from the strenuous pull.

Instead of lessening, the pressure on her back increased.

"Have a nice day! Or not." He said, and then walked off, going with the others into the portal.

Light suddenly streamed into the room. She moved her left arm, and grit her teeth, trying to not cry out in pain.

_I hope that was enough time._ Yurei thought.

There was a small puddle of tears by her cheek. She shivered, shuddering out a breath, and cried out as she tried to move again.

_I've had worse. Stop crying, idiot._

People rushed in.

"Did Orion and Suzuki evacuate in time?" Yurei asked.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:** Sorry that most of this chapter is so dense. ^^"

**Chapter 15**

_Interviews_

April 15th, Sunday, 2:00 PM

Yurei had never done a TV interview before.

It wasn't going to be live.

They were set up in a formal interview room set up in the news building. The walls were a mix of dark blue and light blue, he seats were worn from the years, and the room temperature average. Aizawa, her general studies teacher, sat next to her. He looked awkward and uncomfortable, nervous and uneasy. He wore a suit and tie, and his hair was brushed back.

She wore a similar suit and tie. She wanted something simple, classy, and masculine. Her mom was pissed about it. Her dad had bought this for her before the school year started.

He'd wanted to be with her during her first interview.

"If you hate public stuff like this, why are you a hero?" Yurei asked.

"What makes you think I hate stuff like this?" Aizawa asked.

"All your smiling and giggling gave it away." Yurei said sarcastically, and he chuckled. "You're always so cheerful and upbeat during class. Giving the most positive and upbeat information in your lectures."

"You don't have to do this, you know. Everyone will understand." Aizawa said.

"Katsuki would never let me hear the end of it if I bailed. I'm not going to give him that leverage." Yurei said, and then added, "Thank you again for coming. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable? Water? Coffee?"

"... I'm fine. Do you need anything?" Aizawa asked.

"A chimichanga would be great. Maybe nachos, too." Yurei said.

"What are those?" Aizawa asked.

"American food. Well, Mexican, but I had the American versions of them. I've been craving it all morning." Yurei answered.

Aizawa smiled, and seemed to relax.

"I might make some later. Katsuki will probably be upset when I don't share. Or… actually, with my arm like this, I won't be able to. Maybe I could guilt Katsuki into doing it. He's a good cook, he just screams a lot when he does it." Yurei said, and Aizawa chuckled again.

"That sounds like Bakugou." Aizawa said.

"He just grumbles and screams a lot. I got him to give me flowers the other day, though. He thought I was going to break up with him, so he freaked and got me flowers." Yurei said, and felt her phone vibrate.

She pulled out her phone, and realized the idiot was calling.

"Speak of the devil." Yurei said, and answered. "What do you want? The interview is going to start soon."

"What station will you be on?" Katsuki asked.

"6, at 6 PM tomorrow." Yurei said.

"You're doing two interviews?"

"No, it's just one. We're recording today and it's airing tomorrow." Yurei explained.

"I'm going to watch it, idiot. I will go through every channel if I have to." Katsuki said, confusing her.

"Do you think every TV interview is live?" Yurei asked.

He paused. "How else would they be?" Katsuki asked.

"Pre-recorded. You know that documentaries and reality TV shows aren't live either, right?" Yurei asked with a smile.

"Fuck off! I know you're full of shit." Katsuki said, and the door opened.

"Interview starting, got to go."

"I'LL FIND THE CHANNEL AND YOU BETTER NOT SHIT TALK ME!" Katsuki screamed through the phone, and she dropped it in alarm. She picked it up, with him still yelling on the other end, and hung up. She put her phone on silent, pocketed it, and stood.

The interviewer was a slightly stocky man that appeared to be in his forties or fifties. Like them, he wore a simple suit and tie.

"Thank you both so much for meeting with me today. My name is Haruto Yamamoto." He said with a bow.

Yurei and Aizawa similarly bowed.

"Thank you for inviting us." Yurei said with a smile.

"I'm sorry about your father. If you need to stop and take a break, feel free to let us know, and we'll stop. There's no pressure. If there's anything you say but want to take out, we'll be happy to cut that. We want you to be happy with the result and can show you a preview of the final cut before we air it." Yamamoto explained.

"We'll be seeing the preview." Aizawa nodded.

"Of course, your school wants your students to be represented accurately and well. Given the recent increase of villain activity, we want to make sure that all heroes are portrayed in a positive light. This will be a lot of great publicity for you, Kasai." Yamamoto said, and flashed her a smile. "How are you doing? Do you need any water? Soda?"

"I'm fine, thanks. I already have a water. Let me know if you guys want water, though, because I have extra bottles in my bag." Yurei said, and Yamamoto laughed.

"I think we'll be fine, but thank you. Please, take a seat." Yamamoto said, gesturing to her previous seat.

They started handing out mics and getting cameras set up. Yurei made jokes when she could, and got quite a few chuckles and laughs.

The closer they got to show time, the more nervous Aizawa got.

"Why are you nervous? Haven't you done this a million times?" Yurei asked him.

"I've never been fond of cameras." Aizawa said.

"Do you want to be in the shot, or standing off to the side?" Yamamoto asked Aizawa.

"I figure that I'll be off to the side. If you two need anything or if I need to interject, I'll be close by." Aizawa said, and she tensed slightly.

"You're not going to be sitting with me? Then why is the chair there?" Yurei asked.

"Before we do the interview itself, we're going to talk casually for a bit. I want to get an idea for what we're going to discuss. We already talked through the school, but I haven't gotten to speak to you in person yet." Yamamoto explained.

"... alright." Yurei said awkwardly. She'd thought that Aizawa would be sitting next to her for the entire interview, and it didn't occur to her that she might be alone.

_Stay focused, that's fine._

"Well Aizawa gave me a rundown of what you guys discussed. It seems pretty straight forward." Yurei said.

"Before we get started, I wanted to ask you a few questions. Have you seen any of the footage from what happened? When the League of Villains attacked?" Yamamoto asked.

"No. According to my mom I had very foul language when I talked to the League of Villains, though. I honestly don't remember much of what I said." Yurei said.

"Okay, so will it be okay if we show you that footage during the interview? Just the part where you fight, not the parts where people are killed. We're not going to show any of the bloodshed." Yamamoto asked.

"I don't mind watching it. I love seeing footage of me getting my ass kicked. Maybe my teacher can give me feedback." Yurei jested, and they smiled.

"You did fine, Kasai." Aizawa assured.

"Katsuki disagrees. He spent two hours lecturing me about it last night. My mom did, too." Yurei said.

"I also wanted to check and ask if there's any part of what happened that you'd prefer not to talk about." Yamamoto asked.

"... not that I can think of." Yurei said.

"Well, if during the interview you ever feel uncomfortable, or don't want to answer a question, feel free to speak up. We don't want to make you uncomfortable in anyway." Yamamoto told her.

"Okay." Yurei nodded seriously.

"Do you have any questions before we get started?" Yamamoto asked.

"Will you be able to cut out my terrible jokes but keep the great ones?" Yurei asked in a serious tone, and he started laughing.

"Alright, how are we doing with sound and visual?" Yamamoto asked one of the camera people, and they gave him a thumbs up. Yamamoto looked to Yurei again. "Are you ready?"

"Ready when you are." Yurei said.

"I'll be just over here." Aizawa said, and walked over to stand by the camera person.

Someone else swooped in and grabbed the extra seat. Having them move the chair was startling, like they were severing a body part, but she didn't let that feeling show.

She looked to Yamamoto again and smiled. Yamamoto started by doing a formal introduction, and doing a generic greeting. She responded in kind.

"So, why did you want to do this interview, Kasai?" Yamamoto asked.

"I thought it would be good for the family members of those lost at Mermaid Heel to know how their loved ones spent their last moments." Yurei answered, and Yamamoto paused before nodding. She could sense that he was sad about the subject.

"That is very admirable for you to do. You saved Sunshine's daughter, Tsuni, correct?" Yamamoto asked, and she nodded. "Did you see the video of her father in response to what happened?"

"No, I was unaware that he made a public response. I haven't had any contact from the family members of Mermaid Heel. Most of my time has been spent getting bandaged up and answering questions for law enforcement. My mom has been in hysterics, too. Please cut that part out, if she sees me calling her hysterical on television she'll murder me." Yurei said, and Yamamoto laughed. He nodded.

"Your father was at H.T.S. when it attacked, wasn't it? Were you aware that your father's life was in danger before Mermaid Heel was attacked?" Yamamoto asked.

"When my parents got married, my mom would have a panic attack whenever my dad was at work and wouldn't answer his phone. To keep my mom from divorcing him, he learned to answer his phone immediately. If he couldn't, then he'd text directly afterwards explaining why he couldn't answer. When I saw that H.T.S. had been attacked, when Momentum and Ms. Joke mentioned it on TV, I called my dad. It rang several times and went to voicemail, which meant that he was either dead or unconscious. When they said that there were only deaths and no casualties, I knew." Yurei said.

"You must have been very upset." Yamamoto commented.

"Sunshine's daughter, Tsuni, was afraid of the League of Villains, so I decided to distract myself by cheering her up. My emotions quirk means that I can sense other people's emotions, so I tried to cheer up the people around me so that I couldn't sense their anxiety. I played with Tsuni, telling her about my quirk, and she ultimately decided that I had no business being a hero. Instead, she said that I should use my quirk to be a clown at hospitals." Yurei explained, and he started laughing.

It was a sad laugh.

"Everyone thought it was hilarious. At my table, at least, and I think some others overheard though. But everyone in the room was happy. They all had good food and good company. When someone came into the room, yelling about the League of Villains, I grabbed Tsuni and phased us, in case there was a sudden explosion or attack. Starfresh leaped into action, and started ordering everyone on what to do. The League of Villains attacked quickly. Their deaths were quick and painless." Yurei explained, and there was a somber pause.

"Their friends and loved ones will be happy to know that." Yamamoto said.

"I knocked Sunshine's daughter out before she could see any of the gore, and got her to safety. Then I went back to find any survivors. I honestly didn't expect the attackers to still be there, but I'm glad they were. They seemed to be having some kind of technical issue." Yurei explained.

"Did you consider not going back? Your father had just died and you watched a room full of people be killed instantly. Even when you got back and realized the League of Villains were still there, you could have left. No one would blame you." Yamamoto said.

"I have a phase quirk. They were no match for me." She said with a cocky shrug, and Yamamoto chuckled. "I hadn't planned to engage them. I found a nice corner to hide and eavesdrop while sent out the mass text message. It's fortunate that I had Momentum's number, and he could get the message out so fast. It was because of that fast response time that a few people were saved."

Thirty people still died at Orion.

Suzuki was prepared enough to fight back, so no one died there.

"So how did you get caught? If you were using your phase quirk, how did you get solid again?" Yamamoto asked.

"I was in the wall, minding my own business and foiling their plans, when suddenly something grabbed me and threw me into the middle of the room. I think it was the same stuff that killed everyone else in the building. Somehow it made my quirk inert for a short time period." Yurei explained.

"What happened after that?" Yamamoto asked.

"... I don't remember much, honestly. I just remember trying to buy time so that everyone at Orion could escape. Also, getting a dislocated arm hurts." Yurei said, and Yamamoto tried to keep a straight face, but then accidentally laughed.

"Humor is your coping mechanism, I see." Yamamoto commented.

"It's usually not. Watching people die just makes me hilarious. It's my third quirk, I just developed it late. Right behind my nose booping quirk and apple dropping one." Yurei said, and he gave her a confused look. "I tell kids that my quirk is making people drop random objects and booping their nose until they smile. Do you want to see?"

"Not right now. Let's go to the video." Yamamoto said.

Someone pulled out a phone, handing it to her, and it had the video up. She reclined slightly and pressed play.

As the video started, she understood why her mom got upset. She said a lot of anti-gay things, which she's not okay with.

Yurei flinched when she heard her shoulder pop.

When the video was done, she handed it back to them.

"I see why my mom was upset. For the record, I'm not against gay people, I only said that to piss them off and keep them occupied. People commonly get upset when you accuse them of being gay. I wanted to keep them distracted for as long as possible, so that everyone at Orion could escape. I had no idea if they would let me live or not, so I tried to keep them annoyed and focused on me." Yurei explained quickly.

"I think most people assumed that, but I can understand why your mother was upset. Do you usually do banter like that in a fight?" Yamamoto asked.

"No, but I usually have full range of my quirks to work with. I've never…" Yurei changed her wording. "I've recently been training with my friend… I usually have my quirks. I was getting my butt kicked. I don't remember the question."

"That's okay, don't stress. I asked if you usually do banter, like in the video, during your fights." Yamamoto said.

"... no, I usually don't talk. I take out my opponent quickly and efficiently. Since I couldn't phase or get close enough to use my other quirk, talking was the only way to keep them busy. Twice, the villain who got my arm, had a weird sense of humor that I could work with." Yurei said.

"He seemed to respond to you the most."

"I deal with assholes a lot. My boyfriend is one. I've picked up some bad habits from him. My mom also hates him. You'll probably want to scratch out all of that." Yurei said, and he chuckled again.

"Try not to mention your relationship." Aizawa reminded her.

"Sorry. Thanks." Yurei said.

"Also, remember not to curse." Yamamoto reminded her.

"Sorry." Yurei said awkwardly, and reached for her water.

"It's fine. Like we said before, we can cut parts out." Yamamoto said.

1.

April 15th, Sunday, 4:30 PM

When she got back to the dorms, Mina ran up to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry about your dad, Yurei." Mina said.

"Thanks. I'm going to make some food, do you want some?" Yurei asked as she pulled away. Mina blinked up at her, and the people behind her had a similar surprised reaction. It seemed like everyone in the dorms was in that main hallway and lounge, and staring at her.

"I can make something for you, Yurei, you should sit down. You're not going to be able to do much with one arm. What do you want me to make?" Mina asked her.

"I can help, too!" Ochaco said.

There was a lot of awkwardness in the room.

"I might be one armed, but I can still do stuff. I'm fine." Yurei assured. She got some hugs along the way, and lots of "sorry about your dad"s. A lot of people tried to crowd into the kitchen to help.

They were ridiculous. They also kept insisting that she go rest, and she eventually ended up in the dining room with a cup of decaf coffee, surrounded by people.

"All of you guys have fought the League of Villains." Yurei pointed out.

"Not on our own." Eijirou pointed out. He was sitting next to her at the table, and Tsu was on her other side.

"Bakugou technically fought them on his own." Mineta pointed out.

"I guess, but he at least had his quirk." Eijirou said.

"It must have been scary to not have your quirk work." Tsu commented.

"How did the interview go?" Eijirou asked.

"They're going to take a lot out for the final cut. I made a lot of dumb jokes and cursed a lot towards the end. Oh yeah, where's Katsuki?" Yurei asked, looking around.

"He finally figured out what pre-recorded interviews are, after searching every single channel on the TV for you. He's been sulking in his room ever since." Eijirou answered. She let out a tired sigh and smiled.

2.

April 15th, Sunday, 9:30 PM

Katsuki had been pretty quiet since she got back. After eating and socializing, they went to her room, alone.

Katsuki sat on her bed, passively reading, and Yurei worked on her quirk. It wasn't working right.

Her left glove kept coming off. Objects weren't phasing right.

"You've been at that for hours." Katsuki pointed out.

"My quirk is fucked. I need to work on it." Yurei said.

"Are you going to classes tomorrow?" Katsuki asked.

"Yes." Yurei answered.

"Then you should rest." Katsuki told her.

"All Might isn't going to make me train with one fucking arm. I'm still sore from the fight. My back hurts like hell." Yurei said.

"Then sit the fuck down and rest."

"I don't want to." Yurei said, but as she did, she got light-headed.

_I don't have to be standing to work on my quirk._

"Fine." Yurei muttered, and picked up one of the smaller balls. She went over to the bed, hopping on, and sat near him. The ball sat in her hand, and she focused on it, phasing it in and out.

Her glove fell off again.

She gripped the ball tighter.

"Just chill out, already." Katsuki said.

"I need my quirk to work." Yurei told him.

"You're going to exhaust yourself. Just lay the fuck down and do this in class tomorrow." Katsuki said as he took the ball away, and set it on her nightstand. He stood up, taking his pants off, and walked over to turn the light off.

Sometimes when he stayed over, he'd sleep in his boxers. Jeans were uncomfortable.

When he came back, he reached up, pushing her back, and she cried out in pain from the sudden pressure on her shoulder. He immediately stopped and pulled back.

"Sorry." Katsuki said in a low voice.

3.

April 16th, Monday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, for class, everyone was expected to show up in their hero costumes. Yurei didn't get much sleep, but she had enough coffee to compensate.

She wasn't sure if she would be participating or not, in whatever they were doing. When they showed up to the usual class location, though, she was surprised to see Mirio and several other older students there. Their principal was there, too.

"You're here, Yurei?" All Might asked in surprise.

"I thought I could yell at people like the other time I was injured. Give rousing speeches and whatnot." Yurei joked with a smile.

"We won't be doing the usual exercises today." All Might told her, and she could sense his concern. She realized that Aizawa was there, too, looking tired and hunched over.

"She can sit with us in the video monitoring room." The principal said with a smile.

"Sounds cool." Yurei said with a smile.

They went on to explain what the other students were doing for that day. The entire class would be going against the Big Three, who were pretending to hijack a train. A real train, with tracks and everything, had even been set up. The tracks didn't go very far, only going in a big circle, but most of it was close to real.

After everyone was given their instructions, they were also given a small earpiece, so that they could hear any necessary instruction or ask questions. Yurei wished Katsuki luck before he walked off, and he grunted in response.

Mirio gave her a big hug, careful of her shoulder injury, and said he was sorry about her dad. She reciprocated the hug, gave him a nod, and watched him walk off.

As the other students went to their locations, Yurei went with her principal and teachers to the monitoring room in the other building.

"Are you going to want tea, Kasai?" Her principal asked in a sweet voice.

"No thanks. I already had my morning coffee, and I planned to work on my quirk with my free hand. My quirk has been a little buggy since the other day." Yurei explained, and he nodded in understanding.

"Don't push yourself too hard, now. You don't need to rush." He said.

"I'll be fine, no worries." Yurei replied.

"I'm sorry about your father, Kasai." All Might said.

"Thank you. Do you guys think there's any chance of my classmates winning?" Yurei asked.

"They're very resourceful. We'll see." All Might said.

"Katsuki will probably blow up the entire train, or derail it and make sure it falls on Deku." Yurei guessed.

"I'm sure that Mirio would save Deku in that situation." All Might said awkwardly. Once they reached the video room, Yurei took one of the seats, and looked up at the multitude of screens. The scenario wasn't as elaborate as the one she did with them last term.

"How is your shoulder?" The principal asked.

"It's fine. My back and left shoulder are pretty sore, though." Yurei said.

"I look forward to seeing your interview tonight. Aizawa told me that you did a good job."

"I started to mess up towards the end. They're going to be cutting a lot of it because of my cursing." Yurei admitted.

"That's okay. When I did my first televised interview, I threw up backstage. Some of it got stuck in my fur and no one told me until after it was done."

"That sucks. I just kept making bad jokes. I could sense that everyone around me was nervous or sad, so I kept wanting to cheer them up. It might come across as insensitive in the final cut." Yurei admitted.

"I'd forgotten about your emotions quirk. Were my feelings bothering you at the interview?" Aizawa asked, turning to her. He'd been working on getting all the cameras up and running.

"Don't worry about it. You can't control your feelings." Yurei said.

"Were you making the jokes to make me feel less nervous?" Aizawa asked.

"Yeah."

"... I'm sorry. I should have been better." Aizawa apologized.

"You were fine, there's nothing to worry about." Yurei said, and felt her pocket vibrate. She groaned.

She pulled out her phone, and answered it.

"Where are you right now?" Her mother croaked.

"I'm in class. Is auntie with you?" Yurei asked.

"She's asleep. Why are you in class right now? Why aren't you home?" Her mother asked.

"I can't just not go to class when something bad happens, and my teachers are understanding, so my grades shouldn't suffer too much. I plan to attend the memorial on Saturday." Yurei said in an even voice.

"Your father died the other day, and you're in class?" Her mother asked.

Yurei paused. She tried not to think about that.

"The interview will be aired tonight. Channel 6 at 6 PM. One more six and I'll be in trouble." Yurei joked.

"I asked you not to do that. Your father would want you home, not going around on TV getting publicity off the death of others. What would he think if he saw you?"

"I think he would have been proud that his daughter saved a little girl's life, and the lives of almost a hundred people."

"You almost died! You risked your life when you didn't have to! He would have wanted you to live!"

Yurei hung up. She didn't want to deal with her.

"You don't have to be here today. You won't lose points." All Might said. She glanced up, realizing that they were watching her with concerned expressions.

She was so tired of that.

"It's fine. I want to watch Katsuki mess up so that I can tell him later." Yurei said, and forced a smile.

"People handle grief in different ways. Try to not be too hard on your mother. She called me yesterday, and she's very concerned about you." The principal said.

"My aunt is taking care of her. She said that she'll be fine, and I said that I can handle things on my end. I just want to focus on something else right now." Yurei said, and he nodded in understanding.

The teachers soon turned their attention to the screens, since they were finally on the right ones, and got ready for the exercise to start. While they did that, Yurei pulled her glove out of her pocket, along with the small stress ball. As her classmates started the exercise, she slowly clenched and unclenched her fist, working on her quirk.

Her quirk was less stable than usual, which was bad. Whether that was from stress or the villain's quirk, she wasn't sure, but she needed to get it under control again. If she didn't, she would never be able to use her phase quirk in public again. She wouldn't be able to phase other people.

Hearing explosions on screen, she looked up, and saw that Katsuki was going in first. He was yelling and using his quirk to launch himself in the air.

Pain suddenly erupted in her hand, and she froze, looking down.

… she fucked up.

That was not good.

That was not good.

That was very, very not good.

Her heart raced in her chest. Blood dripped to the floor. She was going to get in trouble for not reporting her quirk right.

She didn't know if Recovery Girl could regrow skin. Panic crept along her skull, crawling along her back and chest, and she struggled to figure out what to do. A scream threatened to erupt from her throat, but she gulped it down, trying to think rationally about the situation.

She was so fucked.

More blood was dripping to the floor. Just like that blood dripped from Sunshine's head. If Recovery Girl couldn't help her, then she could contact Koharu Ito, her friend from elementary school that used to help her when this happened.

She didn't have her number.

She couldn't call her without help.

As her glove pulled away from the fleshy skin of her hand, it plattered onto the floor, getting All Might's attention.

"K-Kasai!" All Might shouted in alarm, his face going pale, and the other teachers looked her way too. The skin of her hand, which had been dangling by a thin piece, fall onto the stress ball and glove.

Her heart pounded against her chest.

"... c-can Recovery Girl regrow skin?" Yurei asked as she looked at her bloody, muscled, boney hand. She knew better than to move it or touch it in anyway.

There was no point in trying to hide this. No way to explain this. Tears fell down the sides of her face, and she didn't have a way to soak up the tears. She tried to not panic, despite the pain and shock that wreaked havoc on her.

"What happened?! Aizawa, call Recovery Girl." Nezu instructed.

"... I messed up my quirk. If Recovery Girl c-can't regrow skin, I know someone, but I haven't talked to them in a while." Yurei said in a quiet voice.

"Is this a side effect of your quirk? Why didn't you mention it in your paperwork?" All Might asked.

"... it's been a long time since it's happened. So long as I'm not being stupid, it's not a problem." Yurei said.

They could expel her over this.

"Let's get you to the infirmary. We can discuss the details later." Nezu said, and approached her. "It's okay, let's just get you bandaged up."

But it wasn't okay.

She fucked up.

4.

April 16th, Monday, 7:30 AM

It took Koharu Ito about an hour to get there. She'd been working at a hospital, shadowing someone, when Recovery Girl called her.

The teachers told her not to worry. They didn't say that they wouldn't expel her, though. _God, I'm so fucked. I should have stayed in my room._

She sat on one of the infirmary beds, tears falling from her eyes, and hand awkwardly propped up, away from everything. There was a clean sheet beneath her hand, in case she accidentally dipped her hand too low. Her elbow was on her knee, and hand an inch or so from the bed.

The infirmary was empty. Recovery Girl had left to meet Koharu when she gets here, since she's never been to this school and she'd need a card to get onto campus. Security had gotten stricter lately. They were even enforcing a curfew, now.

Recovery Girl had offered her something for the pain, but she refused it. Nezu had at least been discreet enough to get her to the infirmary in a way that avoided most students.

She felt their fear and shock, which only added to her own.

Even Recovery Girl, someone who dealt with injuries regularly, had been mortified by the sight. All of the skin on Yurei's hand had fallen off. Even her nails were gone.

_If mom finds out…._

She didn't want to think about that.

When she heard talking down the hallway, her head fell more. She felt humiliated and terrible.

Koharu had to take time out of her day for her. She had to travel all the way here. She must be sick of old classmates calling her for favors like this.

"Yurei?" A feminine voice spoke by the door.

Yurei nodded, and straightened her posture slightly, but didn't look at her.

"It looks like it's only your hand this time, that's not so bad. It's been a long time since I've seen you." Koharu said in a sweet voice, and came closer. "I heard about you on the news. Is this a result of that?"

"N-no. I, uh… well, k-kind of. They m-messed with my quirk. I'm sorry that I had to c-call you." Yurei stuttered, and mentally kicked herself.

"Are you kidding? It's exciting to be called in by a big name hero like you. I'm happy to help." Koharu said, and Yurei finally looked up at her.

She looked a lot different than she remembered, with long dark hair cascading down her shoulders, subtle earthy make up, and a dark brown jacket with flowers on it. Her face was a bit rounder than she remembered, and she was a bit on the shorter side.

"May I?" Koharu asked, gesturing to Yurei's hand, and she nodded. Gently, Koharu touched her elbow and middle forearm, leaning in closer to inspect the damage. "And you didn't touch it or anything, right?"

"Of course." Yurei nodded.

"Should be a quick fix, then. Well, relatively quick. You know how it goes." Koharu said, and Yurei nodded. "Don't be afraid to call me if this happens again, alright? I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for you."

"What do you mean?" Yurei asked, and looked up into her big brown eyes.

"I practiced my quirk on you when I was little, and that was great practice for me later on. I'm only as advanced with my quirk as I am because of my experience with you. Oh, your other arm has skin, right?" Koharu checked.

"Yeah, it's just a dislocated shoulder." Yurei nodded.

"Oh! I saw that on the news. You were such a wise cracker." Koharu spoke. She was good at talking while she worked.

"Your bedside manners have gotten better." Yurei commented.

"Thank you! After dealing with your crybaby butt, I felt pretty confident when I started dealing with other injured people. I got full marks when it came to bedside manners." Koharu said, and Yurei chuckled. "Have you taken any pain killers?"

"No."

"Eh? Why not? No wonder you're crying like a baby." Koharu commented, and Yurei chuckled again.

"I might get expelled, and my pain tolerance has gotten pretty high lately." Yurei said.

"Eh? Why expelled?" Koharu asked.

"I didn't disclose all the possible side effects of my quirk. This happened right in front of two of my teachers and the dean." Yurei said, and Koharu grimaced.

"For a hero school, they take that pretty seriously, huh?" Koharu said, and Yurei nodded.

"Will you be able to help her?" A familiar voice asked, and Yurei tensed, looking up at Aizawa. He was purposely avoiding looking at her hand, and she could sense revulsion from him.

Yurei's chest tightened again, and she looked back at her limp hand.

"Yes, I can help her. My quirk is regrowing skin. It'll take a little while, though, and I recommend that she has pain killers." Koharu explained.

"How long?" Aizawa asked.

"About an hour." Koharu answered.

"Why so long?" Yurei asked.

"I'm a lot more cautious now, and there's more skin on your hand now, since you're bigger." Koharu said, and Yurei nodded.

"We can compensate you for your time, since you came all the way out here." Aizawa said.

"Thanks, but I'll still do this even if there's no money. Practice is great for me, and I don't get to use my quirk that often, since I'm still in school." Koharu explained.

"And you've done this before?" Aizawa asked.

"It's been a while since I've done Yurei's hands, but I've regrown her skin before. There's never been any issues." Koharu said.

"How many times has this happened?" Aizawa asked.

Koharu looked to Yurei, uneasy.

"You can be honest. It's not like it matters now, anyway." Yurei said, and took a deep breath.

"When we were little, I wanted to practice my quirk, and Yurei wanted to practice hers without getting into trouble. The last time we did this was probably… eight years ago? Seven?" Koharu said, looking to Yurei.

"It happened when we were about seven to eleven years old. I haven't had an incident with my quirk like this since." Yurei said.

"So your parents don't know about this side effects?" Aizawa asked Yurei.

Looking into his eyes made her feel so guilty.

"Koharu was the only one that knew. We didn't tell anyone. I was tested a lot by doctors when I was little to make sure that there were no other side effects, and they never noticed." Yurei answered.

"Can we talk about this after I heal her hand? I don't want to risk losing nerves or accidentally damaging her cells." Koharu said.

"Of course." Aizawa said with a nod, and took a seat nearby.

"Here." Recovery Girl said nearby, holding a pill and glass of water. Since both of her hands were busy, Recovery Girl had to administer them both.

"I'll get started, and if it's too much, we can wait until the pain killer kicks in." Koharu said.

"I'm already in pain, just do it." Yurei said.

"You've developed quite the attitude." Koharu commented, and started her quirk. Two of her fingers pressed against her skin, next to the tear line, and slowly, it started to regrow.

Yurei watched her work, both disgusted and in awe by the sight. She grit her teeth, her muscles tensing, and she focused on her breathing.

5.

April 16th, Monday, 8:00 AM

Yurei wasn't answering her damn phone, so Katsuki headed over to the infirmary to check on her. They said she "wasn't feeling well."

When he got there, one of the beds had a curtain around it, and Aizawa was sitting on a chair, looking at his phone.

"Is Yurei in there?" Katsuki asked, and Aizawa looked up at him in surprise.

"I suggest you come back later." Aizawa said.

"Why? What's going on?" Katsuki asked.

"... she can tell you later." Aizawa said, hesitating. Katsuki looked over at the curtained area.

"Oi, Blue Hair Girl. What's going on?" Katsuki asked.

"... I'm busy, Katsuki." Yurei spoke in a strained voice.

"You hurt your shoulder or something?" Katsuki asked.

"She'll tell you about it later." A feminine voice, one he hadn't heard before, said.

"And who the fuck are you?" Katsuki barked.

"Bakugou, be more respectful." Aizawa scolded.

"I'm Yurei's friend. Who the fuck are you?" The feminine voice snapped back.

"Her boyfriend." Katsuki replied. Then, the curtain shifted, and a face emerged. They were chubby, a little bigger than Ochaco, and had long hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

"Eeeh? Yurei, you didn't tell me you were dating someone. He's cute." They said.

"Who the fuck are you?" Katsuki asked.

"Koharu. I have a skin healing quirk. We still have a ways to go until we're done, so I suggest coming back later." She said, and Katsuki's eye twitched.

"Don't worry about it, just leave, Katsuki." Yurei said.

"Why the hell do you need a skin specialist?" Katsuki asked.

"Don't worry about it." Yurei repeated, and he glared at the curtain she hid behind.

"Did you fuck up your quirk, or some shit?" Katsuki asked.

"Eh? You told him?" Koharu asked Yurei.

"No." Yurei answered.

"When you literally use your quirk day and night without a break, you're going to fuck up and hurt yourself. That's basic shit." Katsuki said.

"I'll text you when I'm done, alright?" Yurei said.

"Will you be in class?" Katsuki asked.

"No." Aizawa answered for her.

Katsuki looked at his tense expression for a moment. _Yurei didn't lie to the teachers about her quirk, did she?_

"... text me later, Blue Hair Girl." Katsuki said, and left.

6.

April 16th, Monday, 8:30 AM

Once her hand was healed, Yurei stretched and curled her fingers. Her skin was tingly, and stomach sour.

Koharu put her number into Yurei's phone, and told her to call her anytime. She also insisted on getting lunch sometime to catch up. Yurei didn't really want her to leave, since that meant that she'd have to talk to Aizawa.

Recovery Girl walked Koharu out, and got her information so that the school could pay her for her time.

That left her and Aizawa.

She kept her eyes locked on her hand, not wanting to meet his gaze. Whenever she glanced up, he was still on his phone, across the room. Yurei couldn't leave until she was cleared by Recovery Girl. She wanted to do a few more checks on her, to make sure that there were no other side effects from the quirk fuck up.

Her chest hurt.

Her tears had dried up, and her cheeks felt raw.

Most of her body ached.

"Am I expelled?" Yurei blurted.

There was a tense pause, and he didn't say anything for a while. Every second that passed was like a crushing weight on her shoulders.

"... not likely." Aizawa said, and she let out a sigh of relief. "But you'll have to sit out the training class for the rest of the term."

"Most of the class doesn't involve my quirk, it's just physical exertion." Yurei pointed out.

"Even so… you've received a lot of injuries recently." Aizawa said.

"If I don't train in class, then I'll train with Katsuki outside of class." Yurei said.

Another awkward pause.

"Nothing has changed, it just means that I have to take a break from using my quirk for a while. It could be a side effect from that one quirk user in the League of Villains. Until I can use my quirk again without risk of losing skin, I'll just focus on physical strength and my emotions quirk. Easy fix." Yurei said.

"If you hid this from your parents because they knew they'd make you stop, then you understand why we can't ignore this." Aizawa said.

"I'm not saying you should ignore it. I haven't had an incident in eight years. I know my quirk, Aizawa." Yurei told him.

Another was a pause.

Aizawa sighed.

"I know that it's gross, and it startled you and the other teachers, but it's not as bad as it seems. I had doctor appointments all the time when I was little, even when I was working with Koharu. They never found anything wrong. They tested my skin, my blood, my everything, to make sure that my quirks were safe." Yurei said.

"Why didn't you tell Mirio?" Aizawa suddenly asked.

She bit the inside of her cheek.

"From what I understand, he's always struggled with his quirk, and he thought that yours was always better." Aizawa said.

"Mirio is a good cousin, but his father hates me. Mirio would have told him, and he would have told my parents out of spite." Yurei said.

Yurei's chest hurt so much, and her phone was vibrating in her pocket. Probably her mom.

"Ever since I was little, people said that my quirks are amazing, and that I need to save people with them. That I'm one in a million. Not using my quirks has never been an option." Yurei said.

Aizawa sighed.

"My quirk is safe when I'm paying attention. I won't dare phase another person until I'm confident enough. For a while, I'll probably stick to practicing on small animals, to build up to it again." Yurei said.

"... in many situations where people have double quirks, one of their quirks doesn't fully develop." Aizawa commented.

"If I use my emotions quirk too much and don't eat, I can lapse into a coma. If I use my phase quirk too much for too long, I become temporarily paralyzed. If I use my phase quirk in a dumb way, I lose some skin." Yurei listed off.

"Those are serious limitations." Aizawa said.

"Only if I'm stupid or overextend my quirk. Normally, I'm not stupid." Yurei said.

7.

April 16th, Monday, 9:15 AM

She finally fucking texted him. Katsuki was hanging out in the lounge, mindlessly playing on his phone, waiting for her.

Other people kept talking about watching the interview that night. They were planning to watch it as a group, and everyone was extra talkative about what happened with the League of Villains.

Most people knew someone who died in the attack, or knew someone who knew someone.

As he felt a gush of cold wind from outside and familiar fingers in his hair, he tilted his head back, and looked up into Yurei's red and blotchy face. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks pink and swollen, and eyebrows knitted together in despair.

"What happened?" Katsuki asked.

She sighed, leaning forward, and pressed her forehead against his. She was warm. They were on the side of the room, away from the others, and talked in low voices.

"I almost got expelled. Now I have a bunch of paperwork to fill out." Yurei said.

"What happened to your skin?" Katsuki asked.

"I fucked up with my quirk. Accidentally phased the skin off of my hand and scared the hell out of the teachers and dean." Yurei said, and he recoiled in disgust.

"You phased your skin off?" Katsuki asked.

"It hasn't happened in eight years. It's why I was training with it so much yesterday; I could feel it was unstable and didn't want my skin to fall off again. I had to call in an old friend. It was embarrassing and shitty." Yurei said, and he held back from insulting her.

To say she was having a shit week would be an understatement. _Her dad just died. I'll give her a little space._

"So what's going to happen?" Katsuki asked.

"Aizawa is going to talk to the other teachers, and they're probably going to bring me back in for questioning. I have to type up an extremely detailed report about my quirks… one handed." Yurei explained, and let out a tired sigh.

"Let's go take a nap." Katsuki suggested.

"Okay." Yurei whispered, looking absolutely exhausted.

"Aizawa canceled his class, so we don't have to worry about that." Katsuki said, and she cursed under her breath.

8.

April 16th, Monday, 6:00 PM

Everyone piled into the lounge that night. They had popcorn, and people were gossiping excitedly. No one else had done a full interview on their own before, so they were extra excited and supportive.

The news network already sent her and the teachers a copy of the final cut. All she could think was that she looked so alone; her dad was supposed to have been there for her first interview. That second chair was gone.

She sat on the edge of the couch, with Katsuki, leaning against his arm. Her head was on his shoulder, and she liked being as close as possible to him, but he kept moving. He kept arguing with people that teased him for not knowing that some interviews were prerecorded.

Suddenly, everyone started hushing each other.

They were about to start.

The show started with a summary of what happened, and the lives lost. They showed a few photos. When they switched over to the interview portion, everyone in the room screamed in excitement.

"SHUT UP!" Katsuki screamed and hit a few of them.

"So, why did you want to do this interview, Kasai?" Yamamoto asked.

"I thought it would be good for the family members of those lost at Mermaid Heel to know how their loved ones spent their last moments." Yurei answered on the screen.

Everyone became silent as they listened. Yurei kept staring at the empty spot beside her.

Her answers were fine. Mannerisms, fine. Her dad been coaching her on interviews like this since she started high school and she told him that she wanted to join H.T.S.

"You look so professional!" Mina whispered from the ground near her.

Pretty much everyone started crying.

"Was there any point where you thought you were going to die? That… this was it?" Yamamoto asked.

"As soon as I was pulled into the room and my phase quirk stopped working."

"What ran through your mind?"

"Keep them busy. Keep them distracted. The longer they stayed focused on me, the more people that could escape."

The room bawled at that. After the interview, they did something surprising. They showed footage of family members of those lost watching the videos.

There was a lot of tears. Lots of garbled "thank you"s, and Sunshine's husband was one of them. He thanked her for saving his daughter's life.

Not long afterwards, Nezu, the dean, stopped by to congratulate her. He also requested, if she was able, to go with him to answer some questions about her quirk.

"Alright."

She wiped away the excess tears, and walked with him. The air was warm that evening, and no one else was outside.

"Were you happy with how the interview went? I know that I cried when I first watched it. I'm sure the other teachers did, too." Nezu said.

"My dad always said he'd be there for my first interview. He helped me choose that suit and get it fitted for me. I was really startled when Aizawa decided to not sit next to me." Yurei said with a heavy heart, and then apologized. "Sorry. I know that heroes don't have their parents with them on Interviews."

"For their first ones, they usually do. I'm sorry that your father couldn't be there with you." Nezu said sincerely.

Her phone was blowing up. She didn't want to answer yet.

"What you did was courageous and brave. Most people wouldn't be able to do what you did." Nezu said.

"So what kinds of questions will I be answering? I haven't finished the report." Yurei asked, changing the subject.

"That's okay. We just want to ask a few questions about the negative side effects with your phasing quirk. We'll ask about you and Koharu's relationship regarding your quirks. We'll try to keep it short." Nezu assured.

Yurei sighed tiredly. She wanted to curl up in Katsuki's arms and take another nap.

They were going to meet the other teachers in a staff room in the main education building, and as they stepped inside the room, they heard a "YU YU!"

Yurei paused in the staff room door, and peered out into the hallway, surprised to see Mirio and Tori, his little sister, bounding towards her. "... what are you two doing here?" Yurei asked alarm.

_Did they summon Mirio to hear, too!?_

"We watched the interview, and Tori said that she really needed to talk to you. We saw you walking into this building and ran after you. Tori needs to tell you something." Mirio explained.

Yurei let out a sigh of relief, and knelt down in front of Tori. She was huffing and puffing, trying to catch her breath.

"Can we talk later, Tori? I have a really important meeting to do right now." Yurei asked her.

"It's an emergency!" Tori yelled.

"There's no rush, Yurei." Nezu said nearby.

"Who is that little one?" Kayama asked from inside.

"She's my cousin, and Mirio's little sister." Yurei answered.

Mirio came over to the door and gave them a small wave. "Yo."

"You made a mistake in the interview!" Tori said in a harsh whisper, which everyone could hear.

"What mistake?" Yurei asked.

"You-" Tori leaned in closer to her ear. "You talked about your secret quirk!" Yurei froze, her heart painfully pounding against her chest, and she tried to figure out what she was talking about.

Tori most definitely didn't know about the skin thing.

"... what?" Yurei asked.

Tori tapped Yurei's nose.

Yurei's body painfully relaxed, and she laughed, letting out a sigh of relief. Tori actually terrified her for a second.

"It's okay. That's why I'm here, actually. To talk to the teachers about my quirk." Yurei said, and Tori gasped in alarm.

"Are you in trouble!?" Tori asked.

"Only a little. They just want me to come clean." Yurei said.

"But the secret quirk is only for kids! They can't know about it! You can't tell them!" Tori shouted.

"You have to be honest with your quirk, and if you're not, you get in trouble." Yurei said.

"Even if it makes kids happy!?" Tori asked.

"Yep. They're just going to let me off with a warning this time, though." Yurei said.

"Please, don't get her in trouble!" Tori shouted at the teachers. "The secret quirk is only used to make kids happy! It's an ancient technique passed down through generations, only to be used with-with utmost responsibility! Adults aren't supposed to know!"

All of the teachers looked at Yurei.

She wanted to die.

"Please don't get her in trouble!" Tori pleaded.

_I wish the Villains had killed me._

"... I touch kids noses, and it makes them happy. It's called the secret nose-booping quirk." Yurei said in a flat tone.

They nodded in sudden understanding.

"It's a very serious offense to not be honest about your quirk." All Might said in a haughty voice.

"I know, but she was just trying to make kids happy! She's honest about her other quirks!" Tori exclaimed heatedly.

"And we will take that under advisement, don't worry." Nezu said with a gentle smile.

"What's this meeting about?" Mirio whispered to Yurei.

"... I'll tell you later…." Yurei replied uneasily.

Tori then turned to her, with a serious pout, and watery eyes. Yurei reached up, booping Tori on the nose, which made her smile and giggle in response.

"I'll talk to you later, okay? I have to do this meeting. I have to tell them all about the secret nose boop technique and then swear them to secrecy." Yurei said, and added a wink.

"But," Tori tried to argue, but then Mirio picked her up.

"Say 'bye cousin!'" Mirio instructed.

"Bye cousin!" Tori said with a wave, and was taken away.

_That was excruciating_. Yurei thought, and looked to the other teachers, who were smiling sympathetically.

At least the overall mood had lifted slightly.

Yurei stood back up.

"Sorry. It's a thing I do with kids. I tell them that my quirks are making people drop things and nose boops." Yurei said.

"That's very cute." Kayama said with a smile.

"Why don't you sit down? I'll make some tea." Nezu suggested. There were only about six people there, sitting around a round table. The bigger heroes, Cementoss and Ectoplasm, sat a little ways away.

"You did great in the interview." All Might said.

"We all cried." Ectoplasm added, and she smiled a little.

"How is your shoulder?" Kayama asked.

"My everything is sore." Yurei replied.

"How's your hand?" Aizawa asked.

She tensed slightly, but answered, "It's fine. Good as new."

"Does Mirio know about your quirk's limitations?" Kayama asked.

"No. Until this morning, Koharu was the only one." Yurei answered.

"We just want to make sure that you'll be safe. We don't want you to feel pressured into using your quirk and getting injured." Kayama said.

Yurei sighed. "The absolute worst that my quirk can do is lose the skin on my limbs. No matter how hard I've tried, I can't lose any skin from my head or torso. When I was little I tested it a lot with Koharu nearby. My quirk does have a failsafe to keep me from accidentally killing myself."

"What's the most skin that you've lost in a phasing?" Ectoplasm asked.

"My leg, from the mid thigh down. I've found that if I'm cold or numb, it's easier for my quirk to forget some pieces. When it comes to accidentally losing skin, like I just didn't do the proper checks before phasing, at most I've lost a hand of skin, like in class. For some reason my hands are the only parts of my body that my quirk struggles to get. Fingertips are more common." Yurei answered.

Her answer seemed to calm them down. They were probably terrified that she'd just lose all her skin in class or something and die.

"I've been training with Katsuki to learn how to fight without my quirk. I figure that until my quirk goes back to normal, I'll just keep focusing on that." Yurei added. They asked a few more basic questions about both of her quirks, clarifying a few things, and she answered to the best of her abilities.

"Has Mirio ever experienced any of the problems that you've had?" Nezu inquired as he sipped his tea.

"No. His quirk is more stable and covers his entire body, but he doesn't have much control over where he goes when he phases. I have control over where I go, but… that also means that I have to be more precise. If I'm wrong, I lose some skin." Yurei said.

"What about breathing?" Nezu asked.

"I can phase some air around me to breathe, it's just thin. Mirio's quirk doesn't extend far enough to do it." Yurei said.

9.

April 18th, Wednesday, 6:00 AM

Katsuki was excited for the next training class.

He needed someone to hit. Everyone had been too fucking sad around him.

As the class went on, he was unnecessarily rough with his sparring partners. Hit a little too hard. Spilled a little too much blood.

"Bakugou!" All Might called out, and pulled Katsuki to the side, to the hallway. Eijirou was being taken to the infirmary.

Katsuki shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Are you okay?" All Might asked.

"I just want to workout." Katsuki replied. All Might let out a tired sigh, looking tired.

"I know it's been a crazy week. You were at Suzuki when it happened, weren't you? You had to evacuate?" All Might asked.

"So?" Katsuki asked.

"That must have been pretty scary. Since Yurei was sending out mass texts, I'm guessing that you-"

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to workout." Katsuki interrupted.

"... how is Kasai doing?" All Might asked.

"Her hands haven't fallen off again, if that's what you're asking." Katsuki said.

All Might shuddered.

"I'm glad for that." All Might said, and shuddered again. Katsuki almost laughed at his disgusted face. "She watched a lot of people die. She almost died. Since you went through a similar experience, I'm hoping that you're helping her."

Katsuki's hands clenched into fists. He didn't like to think about that.

"How is she doing?" All Might asked.

"... Monday hit her pretty hard. She's been sleeping a lot. She didn't go to classes yesterday." Katsuki said.

"Has she been eating enough?" All Might asked.

"She's been eating California rolls and frozen chimichangas constantly. Her aunt brought over the frozen chimichangas on Monday. She hates people right now." Katsuki said.

"'Hates people'?" All Might asked.

"She hates when people thank her for saving their life and shit. It makes her feel super weird and like she has to make them feel better. She also hates all the attention about her dad; she just wants them to shut up and leave her alone." Katsuki explained.

"... I see. I've heard that she's been getting a lot of letters. Has she seen them yet?" All Might asked.

"No, she hasn't looked at them. She said that she might next week after the memorials. She's debating going to the memorial on Sunday at Mermaid Heel. Her dad's thing is on Saturday." Katsuki said.

"Has she seen her mother since it happened?" All Might asked.

"No, her mom has been a nightmare. She's pissed about the interview and Blue Hair Girl keeps hanging up on her. Saturday is going to be a train wreck." Katsuki said, and All Might frowned.

"I was invited to that. Most of the other teachers were, too." All Might said.

"People might die." Katsuki said.

"... thanks for the warning." All Might thanked.

10.

April 18th, Wednesday, 3:00 PM

That afternoon, Aizawa asked Yurei to meet him in his office.

Her arm was still in the sling.

When she got there, his office door was open. The inside was slightly stuffy, with a regular desk filled with papers. There were a couple of boards on the walls with newspaper clippings attached. A tiny plant in the corner of the room.

Two empty chairs across from him.

He looked tired, as his gaze moved from his laptop to her similarly tired face.

"How's your day going?" Yurei asked.

"It's going fine. I'm tired, honestly. All of the teachers have been taking turns working at night with security, to make sure that everything is safe. Please, take a seat." Aizawa said.

"Should I close the door?" Yurei asked.

"Sure."

She closed the door, and walked over to one of the empty seats.

"How are you doing?" Aizawa asked.

"Mom is mad at me. Katsuki grunts a lot. I've been sleeping a lot." Yurei said, and he slowly nodded.

"Your mother invited a lot of the staff to the memorial on Saturday. Apparently there will be a lot of people there. I wanted to ask and see how that was going, and if you needed any help." Aizawa said.

"My mom's side of the family is helping her get the house ready. My dad's side of the family is paying for all the food. All I'm going to do is show up and try not to embarrass anyone." Yurei said.

"Have you spoken to your family much since it happened?" Aizawa asked.

"My mom calls me pretty frequently, to tell me that doing the interview was a mistake and that I should come home. My aunt is caring for her and tells me to stay at school, and that everything is fine. Mirio sometimes checks on me. Apparently a lot of people on my dad's side of the family were impressed by the interview, which is really saying something. They all hate me." Yurei explained.

"Why do they hate you?" Aizawa asked.

"My dad married a pornstar. I was conceived before they got married. They're not a super traditional family, but… that's still a lot for them to digest." Yurei explained, and he nodded awkwardly. "My mom's side of the family kind of disowned her when she was working in the sex industry, but then they reached out when she got married and switched professions. They've mostly patched things up, but it's still awkward."

"Is that why you were so determined to use your phasing quirk? Because you wanted to be known for that, and not your mother's quirk?" Aizawa inquired.

"... that's a factor." Yurei nodded.

"... well, in terms of your phase quirk, the other teachers, Nezu, and I have talked about it. Since it's not life threatening, you can continue the training class, so long as you refrain from using your quirk for a while. Give it time to rest. We'd also prefer that, when you do start using your quirk again, you have a staff member, Recovery Girl, and skin specialist, which can be Koharu, with you." Aizawa said, and her shoulder slumped.

She didn't like when people saw her mess up with her quirk.

"It's not an unreasonable request." Aizawa said.

"I've never needed help with my quirk before." Yurei said.

"If you do what you did when you were child, you would get Koharu in a lot of trouble. The only reason you two aren't in more trouble is because you were both underage at the time." Aizawa said.

She just didn't want people around her when she messed up. She was still angry about the dumb soccer ball exploding in that game, in front of everyone.

Her quirk was still unsteady since the weekend. She could feel her old control very slowly returning, but it was unstable, still.

"I know that it's frustrating to be unable to use your quirk. You've especially grown to rely on it in everyday tasks, and it's become habit." Aizawa said.

"Yeah. It sucks and it's frustrating. Getting distracted the other day while using it had been stupid. I'm also sorry that you and the other teachers saw that. I know it scared the hell out of you guys." Yurei said.

"It was extremely unnerving. We just want to make sure that you're okay, though." Aizawa said.

"I'll be fine once I can use my quirk again and get this sling off." Yurei said.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_Funeral_

April 21st, Saturday, 11:00 AM

Katsuki made sure to linger by the food table, snacking away.

He knew a few of the teachers, but otherwise, he knew almost no one. Yurei's entire family was here, practically, and a bunch of families from the H.T.S.

The backyard had a table set up with food. People were dressed in black, and talking about Yurei's dad. There was a small group of kids that played in the living room inside, not really knowing why they were here. A couple of teenagers lingered on the edges of the large backyard. Mirio and a couple of his friends them were in a corner, chatting to each other.

Compared to the first time he came here, everything was much nicer and cleaner. Everything almost seemed professionally cleaned.

His mom was there, somewhere. He'd lost sight of her pretty early on.

Every once in a while, as he munched on food, he'd glance at the bracelet hiding beneath his cuff.

Yesterday had been his birthday. Their friends did a big dinner in the commons dining room of their dorm building, and even made a cake. Yurei bought him this bracelet, and after the small party, made out with him in his room.

She was fun to kiss.

Yesterday seemed like a good escape for her. Maybe he'd ask Mina to put together a small party for them, like last night, for Yurei. Something small and simple to distract her. Nothing big.

"Hey." Aizawa said as he came by, making a plate of food. Katsuki nodded his way. "I'm a little surprised to see you here. You don't seem like the type."

"Blue Hair Girl wants me here." Katsuki shrugged.

"... do you mean Yurei?" Aizawa asked.

"Yeah." Katsuki nodded.

"You call her 'Blue Hair Girl'?"

"So?"

Aizawa didn't answer, focusing on the food.

Suddenly, yelling came from inside, and everyone turned to look at the house.

1.

April 21st, Saturday, 11:00 AM

Yurei let out an annoyed sigh as she went upstairs. Someone was having "fun" in her parent's bedroom, and she could sense them from the kitchen.

At her father's memorial service, some assholes were fucking in her dead dad's room. She went up to the door and banged on it with her good arm. Mirio had apparently followed her; he probably saw she was upset and wanted to make sure she was okay.

"This is a memorial. Get out of my parent's fucking room." Yurei shouted.

Their emotions changed to startled.

"What's going on?" Mirio asked.

"People are having sex in there. I could sense them from downstairs." Yurei answered.

Mirio's face heated up in embarrassment.

"At a fucking memorial service." Yurei muttered.

"Maybe they were just… sad? Are you sure they're…?" Mirio trailed off awkwardly.

"I live in a fucking college dorm. Of course I'm sure." Yurei said, and popped her head inside, to see who the assholes were.

Her entire body tensed.

Her eyes went wide.

"MOM!" Yurei screamed, watching as her mom was trying to get dressed and her partner in crime dived behind the bed, out of sight.

"I thought the door was locked!?" A feminine voice yelled behind the bed.

"She used her phase quirk!" Her mom squeaked.

Yurei phased fully into the room, anger boiling in her veins.

"HE'S BEEN DEAD FOR A WEEK! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Yurei shouted at her.

"Please stop yelling! Stop yelling, please!" Her mother pleaded.

"Yurei, please calm down," The person behind the bed requested, and Yurei gaped at her.

Katsuki's mom.

"How long has this been going on!? Is this why you hate Katsuki? Because you're fucking his mom!?" Yurei yelled, and her mother came closer, trying to hush her. "What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"Please calm down, please calm down," Her mother requested, and tried to touch her, but Yurei smacked her hand away. "Do you really want your father to be remembered this way? For everyone downstairs to remember this?"

Yurei tensed, gritting her teeth, and glared at her mom.

When Katsuki's mom moved in the corner of her eye, she sent an angry glare her way, and she froze like a deer in headlights.

"How long?" Yurei asked, turning to her mom.

"... about a year." Her mom answered.

"You've been cheating on dad for a year?" Yurei asked.

"We just… we grew apart…." Her mom stammered, tears falling down her eyes.

"I hate you." Yurei said, and then looked at Katsuki's mom. "Fuck you."

"Yurei!" Her mom said in a disapproving tone. "Language!"

"You're fucking your married girlfriend at your husband's memorial and you're lecturing me on my fucking language?" Yurei asked.

"You're still my daughter!"

"No. I'm not."

Yurei turned to the door, phasing through it, and saw that Mirio was by the stairs. He seemed to be asking people to give them space.

2.

April 21st, Saturday, 11:30 AM

Katsuki warily watched Yurei in the corner of his eye.

She looked pissed.

They sat at a small table in the corner of the yard, munching on food. Yurei looked like she might murder someone.

Most people avoided talking to her, and everyone was tense. No one knew exactly what Yurei had been yelling about, and she wouldn't answer when people asked. People were still teary eyed, and talking about her dad.

Someone approached them, a middle-aged man in a suit, and he gave them a nod.

"How are you doing, Yurei?" He asked.

"Eh. How are you?" Yurei asked.

"I've been better. I saw your interview on Monday. I think you did a great job. Mom was impressed." He said.

"Grandma approved of something I did?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah. Most of us did. We could tell that you were a real Kasai in that video. I heard your dad in your words." He said.

"He used to coach me on how to do interviews. He even recorded us, so that I could see how I looked and learn from it." Yurei said.

"I could tell. You did all of us proud." He said, and then looked to Katsuki. "You're… Bakugou, right? You were training to work with Yurei at H.T.S.?"

"Yeah." Katsuki nodded.

"I'm Durei, Yurei's uncle." Durei introduced. Katsuki nodded in greeting. "What happened at H.T.S. must have changed your plans."

"Why?" Katsuki asked, and Durei paused.

"Well, because they all died." Durei said.

"Not all of them were killed. The department is still running, just delayed."

"But H.T.S. has been targeted twice, now. Everyone knows that if they work there, they'll have a target on their back." Durei pointed out.

"Anyone in a costume has a target on their back. Nowhere is safe to work right now." Katsuki pointed out.

"... I suppose that's true." Durei nodded sadly, then looked to Yurei. "What are your plans, now?"

"After college?" Yurei asked, and he nodded. "I don't know. I might still go to work at H.T.S. Like Katsuki said, nowhere is safe right now."

3.

April 21st, Saturday, 8:30 PM

That night, they did some drinking, and went out. They did clubbing, like how they used to as a group.

Yurei was taking shot after shot, and didn't drink a lot of water. Katsuki was pretty sure she wouldn't be going to the Mermaid Heel memorial tomorrow.

"My mom is a fucking cunt." Yurei said, and took another shot.

Most of their group was dancing, and Katsuki stayed behind to watch her. Yurei was getting pretty dark that night, talking about stabbed heads and shit.

Katsuki had texted his dad about his mom cheating on him.

He replied with "I know. Please don't tell anyone."

He didn't look forward to that fucking conversation.

"Fuck everything." Yurei suddenly yelled, and sluggishly turned to him, squinting her eyes. "You're cute."

Her hand slapped against his chest as she drunkenly turned to face him. As she fell from her seat, he leaned in to catch her, supporting her weight.

"Let's go dance." Katsuki said loudly in her ear.

"Don't tell Katsuki." She giggled, and he rolled his eyes.

Twelve shots in a half hour.

He brought her over to the side of the dancefloor, holding her close. Her hands roamed across his body, ignoring the music, and her lips went to his neck, drunkenly sucking on his collarbone. She grinded against his hips, and his crotch responded in kind.

If he was going to put up with her getting drunk and talking about dead people, he might as well get something out of it. He wasn't going to cross any boundaries with her, since she was so drunk. Nothing they hadn't done before.

As she ground against him, he groaned against the painful friction, and leaned down to kiss her. She tasted like sugar and tequila.

She leaned back, grinning up at him, and then reached up to his hair, messing with it.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, keeping her against him, and let her play with his soft locks. He'd started doing the hair routine nightly, now, to help him sleep. It was as soft as Yurei's mane of hair, now.

But then, suddenly, her face twisted into a grimace, and she started to cry.

He pulled her closer, letting her cry against his chest.

4.

April 22nd, Sunday, 8:30 AM

Yurei vomited a lot the next morning, and Katsuki let Mina take care of that. She was better at that kind of thing.

Katsuki messed around on his phone in the lounge, occasionally grunting when people greeted him.

"Uuugh." Someone groaned, and Katsuki looked up to see Denki approaching. He went over to the other couch, flopped down, and went back to groaning.

"You look like shit." Katsuki commented.

"I know." Denki groaned.

"Good morning, students." All Might announced behind him. Katsuki turned, finding his teacher there, and watched as he shifted to his smaller form. "Rough night, Kaminari?"

"Yurei was sad, so she made everyone do shots with her last night." Denki groaned.

They could hear vomiting from down the hall.

"... ah. I heard that many of you broke curfew last night." All Might said.

"What's up?" Katsuki asked him.

"Training class 1-A will be going on a field trip this week for special training. We'll be leaving tomorrow at 6 AM and return on Friday afternoon. An email was sent out about what to bring, but I want to make sure everyone knows about it." All Might answered.

Katsuki tried to not show his anxiety. Last time they did this, he ended up kidnapped by the League of Villains.

"How is Kasai doing?" All Might asked.

"Vomiting." Katsuki answered, and All Might looked up as he heard the wretched sounds again. A grimace tugged at the teacher's face.

If All Might wanted to, he could report them for drinking, since Denki stupidly told him outright. From what Katsuki could tell, that wasn't All Might's style, though. He hated reporting people.

5.

April 22nd, Sunday, 2:30 PM

Katsuki lounged on Yurei's bed as she got her bag together.

He bugged her into wearing her sexy leggings. While she moved around the room, packing and grunting, he'd passively stare at her butt.

"So have you done training like this?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah. They did a training field trip fall term. That's when the League of Villains attacked." Katsuki answered.

"So that's why you're so nervous." Yurei commented, and glanced over at him from her dresser.

He scoffed.

"I'm not nervous. Maybe both of your quirks are malfunctioning." Katsuki said, and she sent him a glare.

"I'm nervous, too. This is the first time that I'll be going to a training thing without being able to use my phase quirk. I'll have to stay solid the entire time, and I don't really know what to expect, except that it'll be intense." Yurei said.

"It won't be any worse than what you and I do for training, it'll just involve whatever terrain we go to, more. Last time we went to a forest, and had to do a lot of hiking and fighting off mud monsters. We also had a lot of time to train with our quirks on our own. I spent a lot of time setting off explosions with my quirk, pushing my limits." Katsuki said.

"I would be screwed for all of that. I'm better at one-on-one fights, and if I train with my phasing quirk right now, my fucking skin will fall off." Yurei said.

"It hasn't fallen off when you've phased the last few days." Katsuki pointed out, and she stopped to look at him.

"I haven't phased since Monday." Yurei said.

"No, you phase all the time. You mostly do it when you're tired, sad, or pissed off." Katsuki said, and she blinked at him, just standing there.

Then, she cursed and looked away.

"What?" Katsuki asked.

"I told the teachers that I wouldn't use it anymore. If I've been phasing and not realizing it, that means that my problems have been psychological. Fuck my goddamn life." Yurei said, and shoved one of the drawers closed.

"You could fuck something else." Katsuki suggested.

Yurei huffed out a laugh, and looked over at him. He smirked in turn, and looked at her butt again.

"You get off watching me pack?" Yurei asked, referring to his half hard erection.

"I can get off watching anything you do." Katsuki said, and she smiled, rolling his eyes. "Not to pressure you or anything, but any idea when you'll be ready to try something more than making out?"

"That was enough for you last time." Yurei said, and his cheeks heated up.

"That was more than making out." Katsuki defended, and internally cheered as Yurei came over to him. Her eyes were lowered, giving him bedroom eyes, sending a jolt to his dick.

She came over to the bed, climbing over him, and one of her hands palmed his crotch. He arched, not expecting such a rough touch, and growled up at her. His hands slipped beneath her shirt, feeling the warm skin of her waist, and slid down to her bare ass to squeeze. She jumped in his hands, not expecting the sudden touch, and he leaned up, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

Yurei kissed back, pushing his head back to the pillow, and he thrusted into her hand, needing more friction. She suddenly arched her back, pressing their chests against each other, and Katsuki groaned against her lips. While one of his hands stayed on her ass, the other moved to her front, sliding out of her panties to the outside, and slid to the front of her crotch, gently rubbing her clit. She moaned excitedly against him, breaking the kiss to breathe, and moved to his neck.

The breathing on his sensitive neck sent his eyes rolling back, and he thrust into her hand again, gasping at the tantalizing sensations. He felt like his blood had turned to fire, and every kiss and moan fueled him even more.

He flipped them, bringing his knee between her legs, and gently pushed her legs apart. One of his hands took her wrists and pinned them above her, giving him a beautiful sight. Seeing her panting beneath him, her chest heaving, her crotch so close to his own, separating their needs by only a few pieces of cloth.

"Can you not pin my arms?" Yurei asked.

Katsuk pouted slightly, but acqueased, releasing her. He brought his lips down to hers again, delving his tongue into her mouth, and ground his erection against her. A feminine gasp left her occupied lips, and he smirked, moving down to her neck, and started to kiss.

"Don't leave a hickie. If we're doing training, I might not get enough time to apply make up in the mornings." Yurei warned, and he rolled his eyes.

"Anything else?" He asked, sending her a mock glare.

"For now."

He rolled his eyes and moved back, sitting on his knees, and pulled his shirt over his head. As the shirt hit the floor, her hands were on him, and he moaned when one of her small hands pinched his left nipple.

His member strained against his pants, needing escape, and he wished that Yurei would reconsider sex. Katsuki was hard, and he really didn't want to cum in his pants again. It was gross and uncomfortable to deal with.

To his surprise, Yurei sat up and started to take her shirt off.

She even took her bra off, tossing it off the bed, and an adorable blush spread across her cheeks.

He hungrily took her in, committing the sight to memory, and dove in, giving her left breast a gentle kiss. They were a little on the smaller side, but they were still soft to the touch, and he trailed his nose along the curve of her breast, taking in the wonderful feeling.

Feeling her tense in his arms, he looked up, and saw that she seemed much more nervous than before. Her head turned, her eyes leaving him, and blush deepened.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Katsuki asked.

"No, I'm just… self conscious." Yurei admitted in a small voice. Katsuki moved up her body, and gently took her chin, making her look up at him.

He gave her nose a soft kiss.

"You look fine." Katsuki said.

She made that dumb face she makes when she disagrees with him, but doesn't want to say it.

"If you were ugly, I wouldn't be hard as a rock right now. It's legitimately painful how hard I am for you right now." Katsuki said, and she tried to look away from him.

Katsuki's jaw tensed, and he tried to think of how to handle this. He wasn't good at being gentle or caring, and she was making that face she sometimes makes when they went a little too far, and she wants to stop.

"How do I convince you that you're fine?" Katsuki asked.

"... I-I have scars. They're ugly." Yurei said, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He looked back down at her, at her bare chest and abdomen, and didn't see any scars.

"Where?" Katsuki asked.

"I'm sorry." Yurei said, her body caving in, and voice slightly shaky. Katsuki hung his head, letting his forehead meet her shoulder, and took a deep breath.

He'd really, really wanted to finish.

He was so hard.

"Sorry." Yurei repeated.

"It's fine." Katsuki said, and rolled off of her, going back to laying on his back. He avoided looking at her as she moved to get her shirt back on, and focused on his breathing.

His dick hurt, it was so hard, and his pants so constrained.

"... maybe I can do something else." Yurei said, and he looked over, seeing that she'd put her pink shirt back on, but not her bra. Her nipples poked through, hard, and he wanted to touch them again so badly.

She moved onto the bed again, and gently pushed him closer to the center of the bed. He moved, watching her every movement, and wondered what she had in mind. Her wonderful hands went for his belt.

Katsuki gulped, watched her hands unbuckle his belt, and then unbutton his pants.

_Hand job?_ Katsuki wondered.

He watched in anticipation, and moved his hands under his head, not wanting to accidentally startle or change her mind. She shifted, moving to kneel between his legs, and he gulped again, watching the zipper go down.

A nervous smile graced her lips, her attention on his dick, and he helped pull down his jeans. He discarded them to the side.

His breathing was heavy, and he relaxed, grateful for the heavy cloth to be gone. Yurei leaned down, her face so close to the tent he was pitching, and gave his stomach a gentle kiss. He groaned, and barely refrained from thrusting. He tried desperately to stay still for this.

He gripped his hair, painfully, willing himself to stay still.

She pulled his boxers down, letting his dick spring free, and he lifted his hips as she pulled the garment off. Down his legs, to the pile on the floor, immediately forgotten.

She leaned down again, trailing kisses along his leg, and started caressing his thigh.

_Pleeeeeeeease touch it._ He internally pleaded, and groaned, needing release so desperately. Hesitantly, one of her hands moved to his throbbing dick, and he heaved a sigh of relief, thrusting against her heavenly hand.

As her hand moved up and down his shaft, she kissed along his thigh, and her perked nipples trailed along his leg. He moaned, panting for breath, and closed his eyes, relishing in the amazing sensations washing over him. She stroked, up and down, and he was afraid to give her feedback, worried that she might stop again. Katsuki was so close, though, and he just needed a little more. Just a little more to tip over the edge.

"C-can… can you go a l-little faster, and harder," Katsuki breathed, and when she did, he gasped for breath, soon tipping over the edge.

Spasms wracked through his body, finally having a euphoric release, and he eventually stilled.

His eyes were closed, breathing hard.

A chill went through him, causing him to shiver, but he was too tired to address it.

"Was that okay?" Yurei asked nearby, in a soft voice. Katsuki opened one of his eyes, finding her sitting next to him, still not wearing a bra. He tried to focus on her face, his sight slightly blurred, and he tried to regulate his breathing enough to answer.

"Yeah, that was great. Best I've ever had." Katsuki said, and she blushed, looking away.

He reached for her hand, pulling her closer, and took her arm, bringing her down to him. He got up on his elbows and met her face in a gentle kiss, licking at her lips, and hoping to convey his feelings in the gesture.

As he pulled away, he could see the vulnerability and awkwardness in her eyes, and knew that his feelings hadn't gotten across. He looked down at himself, and frowned. She'd now seen him completely naked, and he'd only seen her briefly topless.

After a few more seconds of rest, he reached over to the nightstand, getting a few pieces of tissue, and started to clean off the mess. He had an unfortunate nostalgic feeling as he cleaned up, and tried to fight off the unwelcome feelings. He was quick to finish and get dress, and toss the used tissues into the garbage bin. To his misfortunate, Yurei put her bra on while he'd been getting dressed.

"I have scars too, you know." Katsuki said, causing her to look up at him. "I got injured a lot as a kid."

She looked down, studying her hands on her lap.

"That was, uh… that was nice. It's a little unfair that I was the only one naked, though." Katsuki said teasingly.

"Sorry." Yurei muttered again, lowering her head more.

"Stop apologizing. If you ever want to stop, that's fine. I'm not going to guilt you or some shit." Katsuki said.

"I know, I just… I'm not very good at this." Yurei said.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, and sighed, having absolutely zero idea how to handle this shit. He could barely deal with his own, let alone someone else's.

"Have you finished packing?" Katsuki asked.

"Not yet." Yurei said, and went over to the dresser again.

6.

April 22nd, Sunday, 6:30 PM

After an early dinner with some of her classmates, Yurei went back to her room, without Katsuki.

She felt like an idiot.

As she stood in her room, her face turned red, thinking about the interaction.

That was so awkward.

Her eyes shut, and hand went to her face, wishing that she could disappear. Toru was lucky, not being able to let anyone see her.

Tears fell from her eyes, remembering Katsuki seeing her body, and missing the scars on her. The scars that Ikari had left her over the years, as a result of learning to control his quirk. She had small, circular scars all over her body, from Ikari accidentally activating his quirk and stabbing her. Some of the more… odd shaped, ones, were the most recent ones.

If she told Katsuki that, then he'd get upset.

She fell to her knees, trying to hold back her sobs, so that no one would overhear and call Mirio. She didn't want to deal with anyone right then.

She hated those memories. Those scars.

Katsuki was getting over his trauma fine, but she… she was still stuck on hers, and it was killing her. She wanted to push past the dumb boundaries in her head, to just have sex, but… she couldn't. She couldn't for a lot of reasons.

7.

April 23rd, Monday, 6:30 AM

The next morning, on the bus, Yurei sat with Koharu and Mina. Apparently, the school had hired Koharu to come with them on the trip. This way, if Yurei got injured using (or accidentally) her quirk, she'd have someone nearby to help.

Yurei had the window seat, Koharu sat next to her, and then Mina sat in front of them, draped over the back of her seat to talk with them.

"So you were Yurei's friend in elementary school?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, we were friends, but of course, not as close as her and Ikari. What ever happened between you two? Are you still in contact with him?" Koharu asked.

"We had a falling out in fall term. How is medical school going?" Yurei asked.

"This has been a light term, but it's been pretty hectic, overall. I'm honestly really glad that your school called my school and offered this trip. My teacher approved this as an alternative assignment to what we were doing in class this week, so I'm not losing any points." Koharu said.

"Nice. I'm hoping you won't get to practice too much on me this week." Yurei admitted.

"I hope so, too. I'll be able to practice on other people though, and practice first aid. It should be really educational." Koharu said, and then asked in a lower voice, "So how long have you and Katsuki been dating?"

"A couple weeks, I think? Things have been so crazy, I'm not sure." Yurei answered.

"I did a little research into him after last time we talked. He seems… strong." Koharu said awkwardly.

"Katsuki is a total dick. He's hot, though." Mina said.

"That's not the only reason." Yurei said with a mock glare, and Mina stuck her tongue out at him. "He is a dick, though. He'll take literally any excuse to beat the shit out of someone."

"He hasn't hit you, has he?" Koharu asked in concern.

"Oh, no, don't worry. Outside of sparring he's gentle. He's annoying sometimes, but he's also sweet. He got me flowers the other week, and he's been by my side during everything recently. He's a good person." Yurei described.

"Also very attractive, how have you not boned him yet?" Mina asked, and Koharu's cheeks turned red.

"Mina's a bit bold." Yurei said, and Mina gave a guilty grin.

"Does boy talk bother you?" Mina asked.

"No, it just caught me off guard. Have you two had sex yet?" Koharu whispered.

"We've made out…" Yurei said, her face turning red at the memory of last night, and Mina screamed.

"You've done something more." Mina said quickly, and then climbed over her seat, nearly kicking Kyoka in the face, and sat on Yurei's lap. "Tell me, tell me, tell me," She chanted.

"I…" Yurei made her uncomfortable sound, the one she made when she was upset, and for some reason, that just made Mina giggle excitedly.

"We won't tell anyone, promise." Koharu added in a whisper, leaning in.

"I… well, we, uh… did stuff last night, but… when I took my shirt off, I got super nervous, and put it back on." Yurei said in a low voice, her face red in embarrassment.

"Aaaw, Yurei, it's okay. I get a little self conscious sometimes, too." Mina cooed, and put her arms around her in a hug.

"You're beautiful, Yu Yu, why would you feel self conscious? You're so thin and pretty." Koharu asked.

"... I have scars. A lot of them." Yurei said in a low voice.

"Eh? From what?" Mina asked as she pulled away to look at her.

"... Ikari…" Yurei said in a low voice, and she could sense Mina's sudden horror.

"Ikari?" Koharu asked.

"Do you remember his spike quirk?" Yurei asked, and she nodded. "When he was younger, he'd accidentally activate his quirk sometimes, and stab me. I have small scars all over my body."

"But they would just be small dots, wouldn't they? That's not that bad." Koharu said.

Yurei looked down, having hoped to not explain what happened to her.

"Ikari went nuts and attacked her. It was pretty bad." Mina summarized.

"Ikari did?" Koharu gasped.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded.

"But you two were so close. You were practically twins." Koharu said.

"... yeah." Yurei nodded.

"Tell me about Katsuki's dick. Is it big?" Mina asked, and Yurei's face felt like it had been shoved into a furnace.

8.

April 23rd, Monday, 6:30 AM

Katsuki sat in the back of the bus with Eijirou, struggling to figure out how to ask him for help.

It's not that he _needed_ help. He could easily do this on his own. Katsuki was great at everything. Eijirou probably didn't even know anything that could help.

"Dude, why did you drag me back here to just glare and growl at me the entire time?" Eijirou asked.

Katsuki looked around them again, confirming that no one was paying attention to them. Yurei was clear across the bus, towards the front, so at least she wouldn't overhear.

"How do I get Blue Hair Girl naked?" Katsuki asked.

Eijirou's cheeks turned pink, and he gaped at Katsuki for a moment, blinking at him in shock.

"... I feel like you need to be more specific." Eijirou said after a few seconds.

"When we make out, fully clothed, everything is fine. I take my clothes off, she's fine. She took her shirt and bra off for a few seconds last night, freaked out about something involving scars, and then put her shirt back on." Katsuki explained in a low voice.

"... so she's seen you naked, but you haven't seen her naked?" Eijirou asked, poorly hiding his amused smile. Katsuki punched his thigh, causing him to cry out in pain. Everyone else was so loud, chatting and yelling over each other, that no one heard or noticed. "Okay, okay. It sounds like she's just self conscious about her body. Mina is sometimes like that. All you have to do is be super gushy and assure them that they're attractive."

"I tell Yurei that she's fine all the time." Katsuki said.

"Do you ever say that she's pretty? Or beautiful? Gorgeous?" Eijirou listed off.

"'Fine' covers all of that." Katsuki said.

"No, it doesn't. I know it might sound weird, and feel kind of awkward, but giving her compliments on her appearance will make her feel more comfortable. Do you think she's beautiful?"

"Obviously." Katsuki said.

"Then say it. If she looks nervous and uncomfortable when you look at her, assure her that she's the most beautiful woman in the world, and you wouldn't want to be with anyone else." Eijirou said.

"So I state the obvious?" Katsuki said, serious.

Eijirou blinked in surprise.

"Are you secretly a romantic, Katsuki?" Eijirou asked, and Katsuki glared. "Look, just give her a bunch of compliments to boost her self esteem. She's not going to be in the mood to fuck if she's worrying about her tits being small the entire time. I mean, it would put you off if you thought she might think your dick was small, right?"

"It's not." Katsuki said.

"I know, I'm trying to help you understand. What if… you suspected that she thought muscles were unattractive?" Eijirou asked.

"She thinks scars are ugly. I have those." Katsuki said.

"... okay, so doesn't that make you a little self conscious about your scars?" Eijirou asked, and he frowned.

Did Yurei secretly think he was ugly and wasn't saying anything?

"She likes everything else, though, right?" Katsuki asked, and Eijirou rolled his eyes, falling back in his seat.

"You're hopeless. I don't know how Yurei puts up with you." Eijirou said, and Katsuki glared daggers at him.

9.

April 23rd, Monday, 8:00 AM

About two hours into their journey, the bus slowed to a stop. Except, instead of being at a campground, they were parked on the side of the road at the top of a mountain.

Aizawa stood at the front of the bus, and told everyone to get out.

Single file, everyone got off of the bus, and set foot on the gravel ground. Yurei looked around, her feet shifting on the uneven ground, and she realized that there was a second bus behind their bus. There were a bunch of third years getting off, and one of them was her cousin, who waved at her excitedly.

Before he could run over and say hello, a girl jumped on him from behind, clamoring to his back and laughing.

"Aaaw, do we have to hike to the campground again?" Mina asked, and Yurei turned to her.

"What?" Yurei asked.

"Last time they did this, they dropped us off five miles from the actual place we were going to stay. It was terrible." Mina whined, her shoulders slumping and pout tugged at her glossy lips.

Koharu had been told to stay on the bus. That explained why.

As people piled out of the buses, Yurei went over to the metal guard on the side of the gravel clearing, and gazed out at the beautiful scenery. Below her there was a steep hill, almost vertical, going for what seemed to be a hundred foot drop to a small patch of trees, and then other steep hill.

They were up high.

As the wind picked up, cooling her warm skin, she relaxed.

The sky was clear, light blue covering the expanse. In the far off distance, they could see the ocean.

Down below, at what appeared to be the base of the mountain, there was a large lake surrounded by trees. The trees obscured a lot of her vision of it, but the parts she could see were matching the sky.

"Everyone, gather up for instructions." Aizawa called out, and Yurei reluctantly pulled away from the edge, having the weird urge to jump.

She walked over to the group, her hands in her pockets, and heart racing. She'd never tried her quirk going down such a steep hill.

A plan started to form in her mind.

"As you noticed, we have two classes with us: Juniors and Freshmen. You're going to be training alongside each other this week. Some days, you'll be paired with a person from the other class that has a complimentary quirk, and given a task to accomplish. You'll have some activities where everyone will be doing strength building activities. We hope that you all can learn from each other this week.

"The campground is at the lake at the bottom of this mountain. There are a few heroes in the area who will use their quirks to hinder your progress as you try to get there. It should take you about four hours to hike down to the camp, if you're quick. The faster you get there, the sooner you get lunch. About a mile back from where we came is a trail that will lead you there." Aizawa explained.

There were a lot of unhappy groans; aside from Deku, that is, who was already coming up with defensive plans for his class, so that they could get there quickly as a group.

Yurei went over to Aizawa, and waited for a turn to ask him a question. Some people were zooming off down the road, ready to get started, while most others stayed behind to assess the situation and team up with other people.

Once Aizawa was free, she flashed him a smile.

"Since Hokaru is here, can I use my phase quirk?" Yurei asked.

"Yes, but take it easy. Be careful with your quirk. This is only day one." Aizawa said.

"Alright." Yurei said with a nod. She walked over to the group forming, where Deku was already assigning tasks to people.

"Four hours. Ugh." Mina groaned.

Yurei couldn't stop smiling.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins.

Her limbs were itching to go.

"Later, losers." Katsuki said, went over to the edge of the metal guard, his hands sparking, and looked out over the edge.

Yurei cackled weirdly, and broke into a sprint, phased into the ground slightly, and launched herself into the air, over the metal guard, and did a flip, letting her wave to the classmates that watched in horror.

"See ya at the bottom." Yurei said with a solute.

"Kasai!" , "Yurei!" people cried out in alarm.

As her foot phased into the ground, she pushed off, and continued falling, with most of her body solid.

The wind rushed through her, pulling at her clothes, and she felt a thrill of exhilarating terror as she kept falling faster and faster. Her feet phased through the ground, moving fast, and she kept the rest of her body solid, letting her feel the wind rush through her hair as she hurtled downwards.

"Woo hoo!" Yurei cheered.

Her braid came undone as she went down the mountain side, and she started pretending to be a skiier, going from side to side and shifting the angle of her body. The grin never left her face, the cool wind numbed her body, and she felt strangely in control of everything.

It was purely psychological.

She kept going, adding the weight of her body with gravity and speed of her quirk together, going impossibly fast. Her heart pumped loudly in her ears, tears cascaded from her eyes, wind drying them almost instantly. She dodged the occasional tree, large boulder, and anything else that got in her way.

She'd never felt more excited and happy before.

"You trying to one up me, asshole!?" Someone screamed, and she looked over, surprised to see Katsuki skidding down the hill with her.

"Yeah!" Yurei yelled back. "Race you there!"

"You're on!" Katsuki yelled, and used his quirk to launch himself into the air, using his quirk to make him fall faster. She laughed, trying to pick up speed as she zoomed quickly, aware that if she messed up, she could easily die.

The risk just made it more fun.

10.

April 24th, Tuesday, 1:00 AM

Late that night, they snuck out.

Since there was a person on guard and they didn't have phones to coordinate, it was difficult, but worth it.

Katsuki pressed her against the tree, continuing their tongue battle for dominance. His hands roamed her body, outside and inside her clothes. She was just as excited, pulling him as close as possible and arching into him as her hands explored.

He wanted to fuck her so badly. To slide into her, sheathing himself inside her, and then fuck her senselessly, watching her come undone.

But, for some reason she wouldn't let him, and he respected her decision, but that didn't help his frustration. Especially when she was mewling and panting for him in his arms, practically begging, but unable to verbalize her need. His hand went to her tangled hair, his knuckles brushed against the rough bark, and he held her head back as he kissed her neck, careful to not leave a mark. They were technically breaking a lot rules by being out here, and markings were a no no.

So he trailed down, unbuttoning more of her shirt, and nipped at her breast, pulling down at her bra.

Instead of pushing him away, she pulled him closer.

As a cold breeze rolled by they shivered, and Yurei let out a gasp when he finally found her nipple. He gently sucked, wrapping his lips around it, and lathered it with his tongue, resulting in the most beautiful pants and repressed sounds.

"You sound so fucking hot." Katsuki growled, and came back up to her face, kissing her lips again. As they parted for air, he ground himself against her, and she arched into him, giving him the most pitiful expression.

He took her chin, tilting her head up and looked her in the eye. "What do you want me to do?"

A tortured expression came across her face.

"Because I really want to fuck you, but only if you want it."

"You have no idea how much I want your dick inside me right now, Katsuki." Yurei whispered, and he kissed her lips again, hungrily tasting her, and let his mind go wild. She lightly pushed against his chest, and he let out a low growl.

"We can't, though." Yurei whispered.

"Why not?" Katsuki whispered, and she looked down. "Is it my scars? Is my dick too small or something?"

"No, it's… it's just… it's not going to fit." Yurei said, her voice so soft he barely heard her.

Katsuki paused, confused. "I mean, I'm not small, but I'm pretty sure it'll fit. That's how that works."

"When Ikari attacked me-"

"Why are you bringing that shit head up?"

"When he raped me, he had spikes on his dick. I had to have ten surgeries to make my vagina and surrounding organs somewhat functional. There's a lot of scar tissue that won't stretch." Yurei explained quietly.

Katsuki unintentionally imagined that scumbag fucking her. He tightened his grip on her, and rested his forehead against the tree, trying to reign in his thoughts.

"Sorry." Yurei whimpered in his arms.

"Stop fucking apologizing." Katsuki growled back.

She tensed in his arms.

"... you're beautiful and shit. I just… are you sure I won't fit?"

He didn't like the idea of that human garbage being the only person to touch her there.

"... pretty sure…."

"What about fingers?" Katsuki asked.

"Fingers are fine."

He'd done some research into sex in the recent weeks. He needed to make sure that she felt good.

He kissed her again, slow and deep, and went back to what they were doing before. Before long, they were panting and gripping at each other's clothes, humping and searching for some kind of release. His hand delved beneath her waistband, his fingers finding a patch of wetness, and she gasped in his ear. _That's more like it_.

He wanted her to come undone in his arms.

He started exploring the area, gently probing and prodding with his digits, and eliciting the most beautiful sounds. He watched her face, wary and prepared to stop if she asked.

As one of his fingers slid into her, she gave a silent gasp, her eyes rolling back.

His dick strained against his pants, and he bit down on his lip, imagining himself inside her. Since that wasn't an option, he brought one of her hands to the front of his pants. She seemed to understand, undoing his jeans as he kept stroking and exploring. One of his fingers dipped in and out of her, over and over again, and he wished so desperately that that could be something else.

An unintentional groan left him, and she pulled him down for a kiss as his dick sprung free, entering the cold air. Her hand soon accompanied, stroking him, and he thrust into her hand.

He experimentally slid another digit inside, gently scissoring her, and he was pretty sure that he could fit, but he wasn't going to push her on that tonight.

"I'm close." He grunted, and shifted, aiming his erection at some bushes nearby, and finished himself off. He rested against her as his orgasm washed over him, immediately spent, and he wished that they were on a bed so that he could sleep.

"... could you move your hand so that I can finish?" Yurei asked, and he looked down, realizing that she was still panting and flushed with need.

"Show me how. I'll finish you." Katsuki said, and could have sworn that he felt her body temperature go up a few degrees.

"Focus on my clit." Yurei whispered and moved his hand slightly, in front of her cunt rather than inside it. "Make small circles-"

Her head fell back, her jaw going slack, and her muscles relaxed at such a small move. With the small change, she looked like she was absolutely enthralled, and he was hypnotized by the beautiful sounds she made. He was getting turned on again just watching her.

As she arched into him again, he lowered his head to her breast again, and unintentionally thought about Ikari inside her. He bit down, sucking and marking her, while continuing to finger her.

Suddenly, she gasped, her entire body tensing and then suddenly relaxing.

He kissed her on the lips again, removing his hand, and used his non-sticky hand to caress the side of her face.

11.

April 24th, Tuesday, 3:00 AM

Yurei successfully got back to the women's cabin, but she couldn't sleep. So instead she wandered outside, not trying to hide from the person keeping watch that night. Aizawa was dutifully sitting on a bench outside, smoking a cigarette and reading a book under the bright yellow light.

He probably heard the door open, since it creaked loudly. He looked up from his book, slow and lethargic, and she waved in return.

"How's the night shift going?" Yurei asked as she approached.

"Quiet. Uneventful." Aizawa answered.

"Sounds nice. Can I join you?" Yurei requested.

"You should get sleep for training tomorrow." Aizawa said.

"There's no way I'm going to sleep in a place like that, crammed near so many other people. It's bad enough living in dorms, but this will be impossible." Yurei said.

"What part of it bothers you?" Aizawa asked.

"Their nightmares. Some of the third years thought it would be funny to tell scary stories before bed. Every time I fall asleep, I can sense that someone is terrified, which wakes me up. Scary movie nights at the dorms are the worst." Yurei said.

"Why didn't you mention that sooner?" Aizawa asked. She shrugged. "I can see about having you sleep at the female staff cabin. It's too late tonight, but maybe you can get some sleep tomorrow."

"Sure." Yurei shrugged, and looked at the building behind him as she sensed another person fearing for their life. She let out a tired sigh.

"You seemed a lot more confident in your quirk today." Aizawa commented, and she grinned at the memory.

"That was a lot of fun. I've been trying to not use my quirk this last week, after the whole hand thing, but Katsuki said that I've been using it without realizing it, which means that it's psychological. I realized that when I relax, I have a lot more control. When I focus too hard and over think it, it doesn't work right. It's kind of the opposite of how it used to be. Today was a ton of fun." Yurei said.

"You should still be cautious. Even if it's psychological, that doesn't eliminate all of your problems." Aizawa warned, and bookmarked his page.

"I know. There's still the problem of when I'm calm and focused, it doesn't work right. There are kinks to work out, and I'm hoping to sort through them with Koharu over the next few days." Yurei said, but could sense his concern. "What?"

"... you and Midoria just concern me sometimes." Aizawa said

Yurei sensed someone getting closer. A chill ran down her spine, for some reason recalling the League of Villains attack.

She turned to the shadows, staring into the darkness, and strained her eyes, trying to see them. They were romantically interested in someone, probably trying to break in and see their girlfriend. For some reason, that felt eerily familiar to Twice, when she used her quirk on him.

_Shit! I forgot to say that in my statement!_

The person hurried off, likely worried about getting in trouble, and she cursed softly.

"I forgot to include something in my statement to the police. Shit. How much trouble will I be in for that?" Yurei asked, turning towards him. He'd been staring into the trees, too.

"What did you leave out?" Aizawa asked.

"When the villain guy, Twice, was breaking my arms, there was a hole in his glove. I used my emotions quirk on him, to make him like me. I'd hoped that he would hurt me less or create drama with his colleagues to buy Orion more time. I forgot about it until now." Yurei explained.

"We'll contact authorities on Friday. It's not a big deal." Aizawa said, and she let out a sigh of relief. She moved over to sit on the table with him, placing her feet on the bench part, and looked up at the starry night sky.

Her dad always wanted to take her camping. Her mom always vetoed any attempt to make plans. She hated the outdoors.

He said that he wanted her to see the stars without all the light pollution. That, they were the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen, and he wanted to share that with her. To go out to the countryside one day, bring a tent, bring camping supplies, and stargaze together.

"My dad always wanted to take me camping." Yurei commented.

Aizawa didn't say anything. He didn't get as awkward as other people did when she brought him up, though.

"The interview made a lot of my family members change their opinion of me. They said that they saw my dad in me. For my entire life I was the pornstar's kid, but when my dad died, I became a respectable hero. Even Mirio acts different around me. Not a lot, but… there are subtle things. People ask about my opinion more. When there's a problem, they look to me for an answer, even if I have no idea what is going on." Yurei commented.

"Are you happy with that change?" Aizawa asked.

"... I'm not sure." Yurei answered truthfully.

"Being a hero for H.T.S. isn't a very glamorous position. I'm guessing that you never expected this much spotlight." Aizawa commented.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded, and felt him shift to sadness.

"... my parents passed away a few years ago. I know how hard it can be." Aizawa said softly.

"How'd they die?" Yurei asked.

"Car accident. It was raining that night. They ran off the road." Aizawa said.

"I'm sorry." Yurei said.

"I think birthdays are the hardest. I keep expecting to get a call from my mom, telling me all about her day and pretending like it's not my birthday until an hour in. She used to drive me insane with her long-winded talks about what was inside her junk drawer." Aizawa said.

"My dad was really passionate about his job. He was absolutely thrilled when I went with him to America, and used my emotions quirk to help some of the trafficking victims there. I'd never seen him so proud before. I think he always had a fear that I'd become overconfident in my quirks and hurt people with it."

"My mom never wanted me to become a hero. She always thought that it would be too dangerous. She cried when I first told her that that's what I wanted to be." Aizawa said.

"My mom never wanted me to be a hero, either. What did your parents do for a living?" Yurei asked.

"They owned a restaurant. My brother owns it, now."

12.

April 24th, Tuesday, 6:00 AM

Everyone was up and moving at six.

They did their morning routine and got breakfast in the mess hall.

Yurei quietly sipped her coffee as the morning birds around her chatted animatedly. Mina and Koharu were getting along well, talking about some kind of fashion thing.

Ignoring everything else, Yurei focused on her breakfast, until the room started to quiet.

She turned, looking in the direction that everyone else did, and saw that on the side of the room, all of the teachers and several new people stood.

"We wanted to do a formal introduction for all of our guest teachers for this week. Shinji Nishiya, hero name Kamui Wood, is the number 7 hero with the quirk arbor. You all encountered him yesterday on your way here." Kan, the teacher for the third year students, introduced. Nishiya was in his hero costume, just like the other guest teachers.

"This is Shiro Samui, hero name Water Maker, who commonly does hero workshops with water based quirk users." He introduced, and the hero gave a polite nod and smile.

When Yurei looked to the person next to her, the blood drained from her face.

_Are you serious?_

As if sensing her despair, the hero's black eyes tuned in on Yurei, recognizing her instantly.

"This is Professor Arubai, a specialist in unique quirk physiology. She has a number of degrees in different fields, such as chemistry, neuroscience, and psychology. She's done a lot of work over the years regarding quirk research."

Arubai didn't smile, her lips formed into a thin line, and eyes narrowed on the students, looking around at them in disdain. She was tall, with her hair pulled back in a neat bun and wore a black robe, looking eerily like a nun. Her skin was so pale that Yurei used to joke that she looked like a zombie nun.

Arubai sometimes did talks at different schools, like her high school. Even though most of the class would talk or whisper (even during the exercise when they were allowed to) Arubai would always call out Yurei, and sometimes the other girls. When asked why she didn't call out the boys as much, she said that they didn't need to focus as much, implying that girls were stupid and needed to focus more.

"This is Greg O'Brian, hero name Goblin Green, whose quirk is burrowing into the ground. He's a hero from America, and he's still new to speaking Japanese, so please be patient with him." Kan introduced, and Yurei let out a slight sigh of relief.

She worked with him in America.

"Ohaiyogozaimasu! Doozoyorushku!" Goblin Green announced loudly, and bowed deeply to the room. He was a short guy with bright green skin, and a tuft of what appeared to be grass on his head. Greg was one of her favorite people to work with in America.

"Professor Arubai will be working with some of you one-on-one in the coming days to give you scientific feedback on your quirks, and answer any questions you might have. She'll be especially helpful to anyone with chemical based quirks." _The male ones, at least._ "O'Brian, Nishiya, and Samui will help more with physical training. For this week-"

As Kan went on, Yurei realized that Greg was the one giving off all the nervous energy she was reading. Last she saw him, he'd mentioned coming to Japan, but hadn't decided whether he would or not.

After Kan described their plans for the week, Yurei got up, and walked over to Greg.

He didn't seem to recognize her.

"Hey, you probably don't remember me, but I worked with you briefly in America. I'm Yurei Kasai." Yurei introduced in English, and Greg's eyes widened.

"Yurei!? I didn't expect to see you here! You look so professional!" Greg exclaimed in English, and then pulled her into a hug, lifting her off her feet, and started waving her around. "I'm so happy to see someone I know!"

After spinning her around, he finally set her down, and they laughed.

"Your Japanese is pretty good. How long have you been here?" Yurei asked.

"Only about a week. It's been crazy ever since I got here; apparently the League of Villains have been a huge thing here, and they made some major attacks recently. They attacked while I was on my flight here, and when I landed, my voicemail was filled with panicked messages. Everything has been so chaotic and last minute, that I lost my translator." Greg explained.

"Does that mean you don't have a translator for this week?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah. I know enough Japanese to get by, but… not much more than some common phrases." Greg explained awkwardly.

"Well, I'm not the best at English or translating, but I can do my best to help when I can. You should have Aizawa ask around for any other students that know English." Yurei suggested.

"I'm not sure how to ask. I tried to ask All Might to help, but uh, he just nodded, gave me a thumbs up, and handed me an apple. When I repeated the request, he said that his mother is on fire. I think his English is rusty. And, since phones aren't allowed here, I can't use Google translate." Greg said.

"Oi, Aizawa sensei," Yurei called out, since he was the closest teacher. He was sitting at a table, eating breakfast, and only partially awake. "Greg doesn't have a translator. You should make an announcement asking if there are any other students that know English."

"Do you know English?" Aizawa asked.

"Hai." Yurei replied.

"For the time being, can you help him get adjusted? I'll talk to the other teachers." Aizawa requested.

"Sure." Yurei said, and turned back to Greg, who looked completely lost. He was so anxious and nervous. "He'll talk to the other teachers. In the meantime, how about you get some breakfast and join my table? I can introduce you to my friends."

"Hai!" Greg said with an enthusiastic nod.

13.

April 24th, Tuesday, 8:00 AM

Considering how freaked the teachers were about Yurei's quirk, they had Arubai's first session be with her.

They sat in a small room together, which felt claustrophobic and gross. There were no windows, no decorations, just Arubai's laptop, a notepad, small table, and two chairs.

Yurei could sense Arubai's distrust and dislike of her.

"I did research into your family history, on both sides, regarding your quirks. Your emotions quirk is average for your family, and your phasing quirk is subpar. The only advantage your quirk has to your ancestors with this quirk is your failsafe to only lose your skin in your extremities. Given how often people in your family die from your phasing quirk, I-"

"No one in my family has died from their phasing quirk." Yurei corrected.

"You've had three family members die from their skin falling off or phasing their bones out of their body." Arubai said, and Yurei tensed.

Her father never told her that.

"When your aunt was six years old, she phased through the floor, leaving all of her skin behind. Your great uncle phased his bones out of his body. Your other great uncle phased his skin off. I'm surprised your parents never told you the risk of using your quirk." Arubai said.

Yurei would need to have a conversation with some family members.

Those were really important things to leave out.

"My parents probably didn't want to scare me." Yurei said.

"In any case, you were very fortunate to have someone with a skin growing quirk as a friend." Arubai said, and then went on to describe the scientific aspect of her quirk.

She described Yurei like a nameless test subject, which creeped her out immensely.

She felt like she was in the hospital again, being looked at and observed while naked and completely vulnerable, as if she was just an insect to inspect.

Arubai didn't seem to see people as people. Just creatures to study.

After discussing her quirk for much too long, Arubai had her change into shorts and a tank top.

She wanted to see her quirk in person. To "observe" her.

"How long is this going to take, and why can't I wear pants?" Yurei asked.

"This will take as long as it needs." Arubai snapped with a glare.

They had moved outside, to a small area within sight of the mess hall and most of the other students who were working hard on their quirks. She could see Katsuki's explosions in the distance, reaching high into the sky.

"Everyone is going to be doing this." Aizawa assured nearby.

Koharu gave her a thumbs up. "You're going to do great!"

Yurei hated this.

She would rather be anywhere than here.

Arubai looked at her clipboard, the list of things she wanted Yurei to do, and was making some notes.

"We'll start with measuring how much gravity items experience when they're phased." Arubai said.

".2%." Yurei answered.

Arubai sent her an angry glare, and gave her a device. It had the amount of gravity it was experiencing on it.

Yurei did as told.

Arubai wrote down the number.

They did a few more small tests, and Yurei could feel her quirk becoming more and more difficult and unstable. The only reason why it didn't show outwardly was pure stubbornness.

"Phase your feet through the floor." Arubai instructed.

Yurei sunk all the way to just below her eyes, letting her glare up at Arubai from the ground, and felt the pain in her arms immediately.

She didn't didn't want to come up.

"Oh my gosh! Yurei!" Koharu exclaimed.

Yurei kept glaring at Arubai.

"Come back up so that we can inspect the damage and start repairs." Arubai said.

Yurei kept glaring from her spot.

"Kasai, come back up." Aizawa told her.

Yurei sunk a centimeter lower, never letting her eyes stray from Arubai.

14.

April 24th, Tuesday, 9:00 AM

Katsuki's training was interrupted.

He was annoyed at the break; he'd been on a really good groove, until Aizawa came over and stopped him. Apparently, Yurei was refusing treatment or some shit.

When Katsuki got there, he saw two piles of skins and a puddle of blood. The weird professor person was inspecting the large pieces of skin.

Mirio, Koharu, and All Might were all gathered around something on the ground, a couple yards away from the pile. They were talking to it, like it was Yurei, and they seemed panicked.

"Come on, Yurei, you need treatment. We need to start as soon as possible." Koharu insisted, crouched down low.

"We just want to help, Yurei. You're not in trouble, we just need to get you healed." All Might assured.

"Yu Yu, pretty please come out?" Mirio asked in a weird voice. Katsuki got closer, and saw that Yurei was in the ground, with only the top part of her head showing. Her eyes were barely visible, only enough to glare angrily at them.

"While we were studying her quirk, she phased into the ground, but most of the skin from her arms fell off. She's losing a lot of blood but refuses treatment." Aizawa explained.

Katsuki walked over to the group, and shoved Mirio out of the way. Yurei's watery hazel eyes met his, and he recognized that look.

"Why don't you just phase in the infirmary where these assholes can't see you?" Katsuki suggested, and she sunk lower, letting only the tip top of her head show.

He looked around, at all the people who looked concerned, and he noticed Arubai, who was inspecting the arm skins. Yurei had a weird thing about doctors, so that was probably the cause.

Yurei bobbed back up, took a deep breath, and went back down.

"Is weird professor whatever the one freaking you out?" Katsuki asked, and she made a small whining sound as she sunk into the ground again. He turned to the professor and shouted, "Professor whatever. Get the fuck out of here."

"Bakugou, treat her with more respect." All Might told him.

"I have to inspect her injury." Arubai said.

"You're going to be inspecting a corpse if you don't leave. Blue Hair Girl has a high tolerance for pain and she hates doctors." Katsuki told her.

"Yurei doesn't like doctors? Since when?" Mirio asked.

"She can only stand them for so long until she flips the fuck out." Katsuki said.

"Maybe we should try that. Have Arubai leave for a little while, and coax Yurei over to the infirmary, just with Haruko, and have Haruko deal with her alone. Having a crowd around her isn't helping." Mirio said.

"Haruko isn't allowed to use her quirk unless a trained doctor is supervising." Arubai said in a rigid voice.

"Yurei is losing blood. We need to at least get her to the infirmary. Maybe we can have you watch from the window, or something, somewhere Yurei won't see you." Koharu said, and unfortunately, Yurei heard.

"Shit." Katsuki muttered as Yurei sunk into the ground, disappearing.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

_Shooting Star_

April 24th, Tuesday, 12:00 PM

"GET YOUR FUCKING ASS OUT HERE, DAMN IT!" Katsuki shouted as he trampled through the forest, his comrades not far behind. Yurei had been missing for three hours, and was probably unconscious somewhere.

"BLUE HAIR GIRL!" Katsuki shouted again, and yelled in frustration.

His throat was getting sore.

His heart wouldn't stop racing.

Every curse he could come up with screamed in his head, trying to not imagine the worst.

Kyoka helped them almost locate her at one point, but she seemed to realize they were tracking her, and figured out how to stop making sound. Koda used his birds to once find her in a tree, but when they got close, she ran off.

Aizawa tried to get a lock on her, to stop her phasing quirk, but she kept disappearing before he saw her, and he was tired from his late shift. His blurry and tired eyes couldn't get her fast enough.

"Hey! I found- someone!?" One of his classmates shouted, and Katsuki turned, running in their direction.

Tenya was standing over someone, and Katsuki looked down, recognizing her as the skin woman. She was unconscious, laid neatly on the ground on a jacket, and there was a rolled up shirt under her head.

"Well, at least she's not fucking bleeding everywhere, now." Katsuki grumbled as he looked around, hoping to spot that messy head of hair. Instead of the usual braid, she was sporting a messy bun, which looked weird and unfortunately blended too well with the messy forest floor.

"Who is this? I don't recognize her." Tenya asked.

"It's Blue Hair Girl's friend. She can grow skin. Blue Hair Girl probably made her heal her arms and then knocked her out. She'll probably be unconscious for an hour." Katsuki said, and cursed again under his breath as he looked around, searching for her.

He could feel her eyes on him, watching him, and it pissed him off.

_She'll probably head back to the cabins for supplies, if she plans to stay out of sight._ He relaxed slightly, comforted to know that she was safe, at least. Probably light-headed from blood loss, but if she was moving around, that meant she was okay for now.

Katsuki struggled to think of what to say. He wanted to yell an insult at her, for making him worry, but that wouldn't make her come back sooner.

"This isn't the type of training I wanted to do today, you know." Katsuki said, still looking around for her.

Then, he saw her. About twenty feet away, her hazel eyes watched him, blending perfectly with the surrounding ferns. As soon as their eyes locked, she disappeared again. Katsuki tapped the earpiece in his ear, turning it on. "Just saw her. Pretty sure she had Skin Girl regrow her arms and then knocked her out. I'm going back to the mess hall for lunch."

"Everyone, postpone the search for now. We'll all take a lunch break. I'm going to take a nap." Aizawa instructed.

1.

April 24th, Tuesday, 11:30 PM

After getting some sleep, Aizawa put his coat on, and went outside. He had a pretty good idea for where she would be this time.

Since her sleeping bag, pillow, and few other items had disappeared, they were under the assumption that she was safe and planning to not come back that night. The cook said that they were missing a few small things, which meant that she'd also gotten food.

For now, they halted the search, and would just wait until she was ready to come back. They couldn't exactly tie her down and force her to stay at the main cabins. Kasai had to come back on her own.

Aizawa nodded to All Might as he walked down the path, seeing him outside the men's cabin. He'd been reading a book under the light.

As much as he appreciated the occasional breath of fresh air, Aizawa didn't care for the outdoors. He didn't necessarily dislike it, he just didn't seem to have an affinity for it like other people.

The occasional twig cracked under his feet as he walked.

He reached the point where he needed his flashlight, and pulled it out from his coat pocket. His path was illuminated before him, and he kept an ear out for any animals. This area was pretty tame in terms of wildlife, considering how often young heroes came here to train, and the explosions from that morning.

About a half mile off, he came to the clearing, and turned his flashlight off. In the middle of the short, grassy field, was a sleeping bag and pillow. A person was inside the sleeping bag, looking up at the stars, and seemed unaware of his presence.

"Kasai." Aizawa called out, and tried not to sound angry or upset. He actively tried to stay calm and collected, knowing that she'd sense his emotions.

She heard him, sitting up abruptly, and looked ready to bolt.

"I'm not going to force you back. You can relax." Aizawa said, and stayed put, unmoving.

Kasai eyed him suspiciously, frozen in place, and she was too far away for him to see her face.

"How'd you know I would be here?" Kasai asked.

"This is one of three clearings I thought you might be. You mentioned star gazing last night." Aizawa said.

"... you're not taking me back?" Kasai asked.

"No. You can stay out here, if you want." Aizawa said.

She seemed to relax, and pulled the sleeping bag further up her shoulders as she sat upright more. He ventured closer, deactivating his quirk, and took a seat a few feet away. The ground was a little damp, but he ignored it, instead looking up at the billions of stars above. A cool breeze washed over them, and he was momentarily in awe of the splendor above them.

For a while, they simply sat in silence, saying nothing. She needed to be the one to initiate conversation.

Several minutes went by, and he heard sniffling. He glanced over, and saw her wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"So how much trouble am I in?" Kasai asked.

"Your grades won't be affected, if that's what you're asking. It's not uncommon for students to get stressed on field trips like this, and need some time to themselves. Sometimes they lash out in the process. Sometimes students are homesick, or they're too stressed, or any other number of things." Aizawa explained calmly.

"... Katsuki is going to be pissed… most people will be." Kasai said in a low voice.

"Don't worry about that. What matters is that you're safe." Aizawa said.

She was quiet for a while.

"Did you get any sleep today?" Aizawa asked.

"... a little." Kasai answered.

"That's good. If you want, I can show you your new bunk bed tonight, so that you can get more sleep. Or you can stay out here." Aizawa offered.

"... I don't want to sleep at all, but I'm also tired." Kasai said, and rubbed her eye tiredly.

"Why do you want to stay up?" Aizawa asked.

"I don't want Arubai to get me while I'm sleeping. Doctors will sometimes drug their difficult patients while they're sleeping to treat them." Yurei said.

He wondered why she thought that, but he didn't want to prod too much. She probably had a good reason for her fears.

Haruko suggesting that Arubai secretly watch them while she be treated probably didn't help her distrusting state of mind.

"How are your arms?" Aizawa asked.

"Some parts are a little numb. Could be worse. She did good for how rushed she was. I was a little mean… I've been mean ever since Ikari attacked me. I kind of hate it… I kind of like it, too." Yurei said.

"Sometimes it's necessary in life to be mean." Aizawa said.

"... yeah." Yurei nodded.

"It's hard to find a balance." Aizawa added.

"... yeah."

He looked back up at the night sky, enjoying the calm atmosphere.

2.

April 25th, Wednesday, 6:00 AM

The next morning was awkward.

Yurei ended up sleeping a little in the field. Aizawa was nice enough to stay for a while, since he'd caught up on sleep in the day.

After a few hours of sitting out in the cold, he took her over to the female staff cabin to move her stuff. She stayed in one of the isolated bunks on the side of the room, far from Arubai.

She stayed in loose sweatpants and a hoodie when she went to the mess hall. She got food. Sat at a table.

Mirio pulled her into a hug, saying that he was glad she came back, and then went to get food for himself. Yurei didn't say much as people filtered in.

Katsuki saw her almost immediately, and she couldn't really read him from the distance. He acted indifferent to her as he went to get food, and then sat down next to her.

He punched her in the arm.

"Joke's on you, I can't feel anything there." Yurei said, and he sent her a glare. He punched her again, harder.

"Felt it that time. Thanks for the bruise." Yurei said. He rolled his eyes, and started to shovel oatmeal into his mouth. She felt bad for making him worry.

"Sorry." Yurei muttered.

"Stop fucking apologizing." Katsuki muttered.

"YUREI!" Mina shouted at the top of her lungs, and jumped on her from behind. "I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

"You're here!" Deku announced in surprise.

The entire room stopped to look at her. Mina pulled down her hood, and while chanting her name, started kissing all over her face and neck, gushing about how happy she was to see her again.

3.

April 25th, Wednesday, 6:10 AM

Katsuki wasn't sure how to feel about her return.

He thought that he would be angry over her sudden arrival. His throat still felt raw from all the yelling.

Watching Mina absolutely humiliate her in front of everyone was pretty satisfying, though.

4.

April 25th, Wednesday, 7:00 AM

… as "punishment" for yesterday, Yurei was going to be part of the group activities that day. She stood between Greg and Aizawa, wearing a bright red hoodie, sweatpants, and shoes. Mirio was nearby, dressed in similar clothes, but blue.

All of the freshman and junior class stood before them.

"We're going to play a game. It's like capture the flag and Quidditch, third years verses first years. Your class will get a flag to hide, and everytime you're able to get the flag, your class gets 10 points. Once a flag is gotten, we stop the game and reset. Once you get to 100 points, your class wins; or, you can get the opponent's golden snitch." Aizawa explained, and set a hand on Yurei and Mirio's shoulders. Yurei sulked. "Catch the other class's permeation quirk user, and your class wins, or you can focus on catching the other person's flag."

"Can the snitches catch each other?" Mirio asked.

"... sure." Aizawa answered.

Yurei glanced over at Mirio, surprised by that smile.

_I guess we're going to keep each other busy rather than helping our classes, then. He's a lot faster than me._ Yurei thought, and sighed. She didn't feel like running around again.

"Freshmen are red, juniors are blue. You have five minutes to discuss a strategy with your classmates." Aizawa said.

They were set up on a large field with lines painted on the grass. If people went outside the lines, they were put in "jail" for two minutes. Everyone had a strip of blue or red cloth hanging from their belt, and if they crossed the line and the other team got the strip, they would go to jail for two minutes.

The golden snitches weren't allowed to phase outside the boundaries. They didn't have strips and they could move wherever they wanted, within bounds, without consequence.

5.

April 25th, Wednesday, 7:15 AM

Katsuki glared at Yurei.

She looked tired as she watched him approach. He grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her closer, and glared into her tired dark eyes.

"You better not fuck this up." Katsuki said.

"You guys come up with the plan, and I'll follow it to the best of my abilities." Yurei said.

"Can you win against Mirio in a fight?" Katsuki asked.

"If I can touch him, he's out. The problem is catching him." Yurei said.

He shoved her off, and walked over to the rest of his team. Kyoka had her ear to the ground, listening to their opponent's plan.

Yurei sat down on the ground, her legs crossed beneath her, and yawned loudly into her hand.

"Yurei, can you keep Mirio busy?" Deku asked her.

"I can chase him. That'll keep him busy. That means that we'll be moving around the space, though, and he might hit people on his way. There's also the problem that he's faster than me. He could run across the field, grab the flag, and then go back before I catch him. If I spend my time guarding the flag from him, then that leaves all of you vulnerable." Yurei explained.

"How good is his spacial memory?" Katsuki asked.

"... what do you mean?" Yurei asked.

"You lose your sense of direction pretty quickly if you're blinded. Is he the same?" Katsuki asked.

"... I don't know, honestly." Yurei said.

"So you're fucking useless." Katsuki said.

"She's not useless, fuck you." Mina spat at him.

"Yurei, is Mirio able to catch you? Do you have a weakness for him to exploit?" Deku asked.

Yurei looked thoughtful for a moment.

"He only has the advantage if I'm solid. I can stay phased for the entire game." Yurei said.

"So both you and Mirio have the downside of sight, since you can't feel while you're phased. Yurei, can you knock him unconscious when Mirio is phased? Or does he need to be solid?" Deku asked.

"Needs to be solid. Mirio is rarely completely phased and he needs to be solid to breathe." Yurei said.

"Momo, how quickly can you make twenty-two goggles?" Deku asked.

6.

April 25th, Wednesday, 9:00 AM

After almost two hours of playing, they took a break.

Apparently, they were going to be playing another game, soon.

As Yurei sat on the ground, her hood up and slouched as she loosely held a water bottle, Katsuki walked up behind her, and pulled her hood off. She tilted her head back, looking up at him, with bags under her eyes. She looked like death.

He'd planned to yell at her for fucking up, but decided against it.

The junior class won. Yurei didn't get caught, but she couldn't keep Mirio busy enough to keep him off of them. He knocked them out left and right, even with their flash bombs and goggles, which made it easy for his classmates to get their flag.

Katsuki kept getting knocked out of bounds. He got hit a lot, since he kept blinding Mirio with his explosion quirk and being a pain in the ass to him.

Yurei looked up at him tiredly, not saying anything, and he sighed. He plopped down next to her, and laid down on the grass, catching his breath. He'd yelled a lot. Hit a lot. Used his quirk a lot.

She pulled her bright red hood back up.

"Are they letting you keep those clothes?" Katsuki asked.

"I think they're giving them out to some students over the course of the week." Yurei answered.

He grunted.

"You did good." Yurei said.

"We lost." Katsuki said.

"They're all two years older than us. They've had more training." Yurei offered.

"That doesn't matter. We should have fucking beat them." Katsuki said, and hit the ground with his fist.

7.

April 25th, Wednesday, 9:15 AM

After their break, the teachers brought everyone together to announce the next game.

"Everyone will start on one side of the field. In the field, there will be five spaced out people who must stay in place and try to tag anyone that runs past. We'll yell 'go!' when you need to run. Once you're tagged, you must stay in place, and during the next round, you'll tag people. If you're tagged, you'll stop, and can only take one step in any direction to tag someone else." Kan explained.

"The last two people not tagged will get a free sweatshirt." Aizawa added, and held up a bright red and bright blue hoodie.

"Do we have volunteers for the first five taggers?" Kan asked, and Yurei raised her hand. "Are you volunteering or do you have a question?"

"Both. What if we phase through a hand? Does it still count?" Yurei asked.

"Yes. If I was 'it', and I grabbed at your leg, and my hand went through your leg, that would count." Kan answered.

"So we've got Kasai as one of our volunteers. Who else?"

Yurei felt a hit to her shoulder, and looked to see Katsuki glaring at her.

"Lazy." Katsuki told her in a low voice.

"Fuck yeah." Yurei replied in a low voice.

"You're getting weak with all these injuries. We start up training again next week." Katsuki told her.

"Because I volunteered for a dumb game?" Yurei asked.

He hit her arm again.

"Alright, everyone get to that side of the field!" Kan yelled.

Katsuki hit her arm again and ran.

"My arms are going to be black and blue because of you." Yurei yelled at him.

"Then dodge better." Katsuki yelled back.

Kan pointed to a spot for her to go and stand.

"Kan, are we allowed to jump? For the flyers?" Yurei asked.

"Yes, but you have to jump straight up, and land in roughly the same spot as you jumped." Kan said.

"Alright. You hear that, Deku?" Yurei asked, and he nodded. "Katsuki's going to be flying. One of us should get him."

"Do you want him to murder me?" Deku asked.

"I thought you were rivals? This is classic rival stuff, Deku." Yurei said. Deku paused, thinking about it, but then nodded.

Yurei started to stretch, getting ready, and eyed Katsuki, who smirked confidently. His hands sparked.

"Go!" Kan yelled, and at once, almost forty students charged towards her. She lunged and reached, narrowly missing some, and catching Mina.

Yurei turned, giving a grin to Mina, who stuck her tongue out at her.

"Go!" Kan yelled, and as they ran, Yurei got ready to jump after-

Something smashed into her face, and she flew, colliding with the ground. Pain spread through her face, and she paused, staying still and covering her head as people ran past her in the run. She felt her nose, where the pain was originating, and looked at her hand to see blood.

"Yurei! Are you okay?" Mina yelled.

"Someone punched me in the face." Yurei said as she sat up, and stretched her face muscles, feeling the damage.

… she'd never actually been punched in the face before.

_Not terrible._ She stood up, and Mina rushed over to her.

"It's not that bad, it just caught me off guard." Yurei said.

"You okay, Kasai?" Kan asked.

A lot of blood was pouring from her nose.

"Someone hit her!" Mina said.

"You guys got a towel?" Yurei asked as she went to the sidelines.

"Who got you?" Kan asked.

"I didn't see anyone, but I was focusing on Bakugou." Yurei said, and took the towel that Haruko offered her.

"Whoever hit her while running, you got tagged. Go to her spot." Kan said. Yurei looked over, to see who would take credit.

Everyone looked between each other, shrugging and shaking their head.

"This isn't a fighting or a tackling game. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you accidentally elbowed her in the face as you were running. I'd like this game to be clean, though, so be more careful as you're running past." Kan said.

Everyone kept looking at each other, and shrugging.

"Man up, whoever did it." Eijirou said, looking around.

No one did.

"No one is going to take credit for hitting Mirio's cousin in the face." One of the third years said.

"We have cameras up. Whoever did it, step forward now or we'll look at the tapes later and take off points from your grade." Kan said.

Still, no one stepped up.

"Let me take a look at that." Haruko said, turning Yurei to look at her.

"I'm not the one that hit her, but I'll take her place." Yurei heard Mirio volunteer, and flinched as Haruko looked closer at her nose.

Yurei kept the towel to her nose, soaking up the blood. Haruko did the typical check on her eyes with a flashlight, making her follow the light. Once that was done, she sat down with her on the sidelines, watching the game.

Katsuki flew above them, cackling triumphantly with his quirk, when suddenly Mirio launched from the ground and got him, phasing through him and tapping his shoulder roughly.

"Damn it!" Katsuki shouted.

_I would have got him if someone hadn't made a cheap shot at my face._ Yurei didn't see anyone when she was hit, though. It was like she was hit by thin air. Toru was wearing gloves and the blue and white gym clothes, so it wasn't her.

Yurei didn't see blood on anyone to indicate it was them.

"I'M DRAGGING YOU ALL DOWN WITH ME!" Katsuki screamed as the twenty or so students got ready to run again.

"Here's some ice." Haruko said next to her, and Yurei took the ice pack, gently pressing it against her sore nose.

"I've never been punched in the face before, that I remember. I feel like ever since I graduated high school, I've been checking off a list of injuries to suffer." Yurei said, and smiled as the students started to run again. Katsuki was terrifying. He was making an angry face and lunging at people, screaming at them, and threatening to murder them.

"Was Bakugou the one that hit you?" Haruko asked.

"No, I was watching him, getting ready to launch after him like Mirio, when someone else got me. I didn't see a fist or anything. It was like I was hit my thin air." Yurei described. They were down to ten students, now.

"How are you feeling, Kasai?" Aizawa asked.

"Peachy. Never felt better." Yurei replied sarcastically, and sighed tiredly.

"Bakugou is really… something." Haruko commented.

He was still screaming about murdering people. He was really pissed about getting tagged.

"COME HERE AND DIE, ASSHOLES!"

"That's not incorrect." Yurei replied.

Two students from the junior class won.

In the next game, Deku and Katsuki ended up winning.

Yurei was feeling better, and the bleeding had stopped.

"Next, we're doing a game that Greg introduced, called 'blog tag'. It'll start with one person being 'it'. They'll tag one person, and then they'll hold hands, and try to get other people. Once they get tagged, they hold hands and add to the chain." Kan explained.

"Can I play?" Yurei asked.

"Rest a little longer." Aizawa said, and she sighed.

Katsuki was going to give her so much shit for sitting out for so many games.

8.

April 25th, Wednesday, 12:15 PM

When lunch rolled around, Yurei felt like shit.

She finally got to play again, and she immediately got tackled by Katsuki. It wasn't a light hit, either. It was a full tackle, with him running at full speed, slamming his entire weight into her.

She was sore, tired, and felt like shit. She got a plate, sat with her friends, and then folded her arms on the table and rested her head on it.

_I want to go home._ Yurei thought miserably, but then hated herself for the sentiment. She was stronger than that. She'd handled worse.

_If I can survive being raped by a dick with spikes and repeatedly stabbed, lose my skin, get a dislocated shoulder, watch countless people die… I can handle losing my arms and being tackled by my boyfriend._

"Poor Yurei. You're having a bad day." Mina cooed next to her. Yurei grunted. _What would dad say if he saw me like this?_

Yurei took a deep breath, exhaled, and then sat up, going to her food.

9.

April 25th, Wednesday, 12:15 PM

Katsuki usually didn't feel guilty when he accidentally hurt someone. He was rough, strong, and he generally didn't care if someone got injured as a result of his actions.

… he felt a little bad about tackling Yurei, though. He'd honestly thought that she would phase when he charged her, so he added some extra strength so that he could go further. They were playing football, and she'd phased through all the other players charging her.

She looked like such shit. He didn't know when the last time she got sleep was, her nose and cheek were bruised from getting punched in the face, and her breathing was slightly hitched. He was pretty sure that he fractured at least one of her ribs.

"That was dumb of you to not phase." Katsuki told her, and shoveled a bit of fried rice into his mouth.

"Yeah. I was reaching my limit for my quirk and realized I needed to take a break from using it. I should have waited until after the game." Yurei said.

_Shit. She was stuck between choosing to get tackled or being paralyzed, in front of the entire class._

"You shouldn't have tackled her like that!" Mina yelled, and threw a small piece of rice at his face.

"That was a pretty rough tackle." Eijirou added.

"She phased every other time someone charged at her." Katsuki argued.

"She's also half asleep and got hit in the head pretty hard this morning. You shouldn't have relied on her phasing." Eijirou told him.

He wasn't wrong, but Katsuki couldn't let him be right.

"If she was that out of it, the teachers shouldn't have let her play. Other people got hit and tackled, too. We're supposed to be training, and we can't get better if we're holding back." Katsuki reasoned.

"Would you have tackled that hard with someone like Mina or Toru, who don't have as much muscle mass?" Eijirou asked.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I should have phased." Yurei said.

"You shouldn't have been playing." Katsuki said.

"You shouldn't have tackled me that hard." Yurei replied, giving him a slight glare. Then, she sighed.

"We're all doing personal training after lunch, so maybe the teachers will let you take a nap instead." Mina suggested hopefully.

"You should get your ribs checked out by the doctor." Katsuki added, his voice lower than before.

"I'm not going anywhere near Arubai. Haruko said I'm fine." Yurei said.

_That's bullshit. There is no way your ribs are 'fine' after that._

"Maybe Recovery Girl can check on you." Mina suggested.

"Recovery Girl is at the school. Arubai and Haruko are the substitute nurses. I trust Haruko's judgment. Besides, I'll be able to check in with Recovery Girl on Friday when we head back." Yurei said.

"Recovery Girl might get here tonight. I heard they're bringing her in to heal Todoroki's sprained ankle. There's a few injuries the teachers want healed for training tomorrow." Eijirou said, and Katsuki was relieved by that.

Yurei seemed to trust her. Recovery Girl would fix her.

"Cool." Yurei said. There was enough noise that the others didn't catch the hitch in her breath.

He glanced at her side, where he'd hit her, and hoped that there was no internal damage. Apparently she'd developed a good enough pain tolerance to run around for hours without any fucking skin on her arms.

Katsuki set his fork down.

"Blue Hair Girl, come on." Katsuki said in a low voice as he stood.

"Why? Are you going to tackle me again?" Yurei asked in an even voice.

"No." Katsuki replied.

"Or hit my arm again?" Yurei asked.

"... no." Katsuki said as he clenched his teeth.

Haruko came over to their table, carrying a plate and drink, and greeted them. She gave Katsuki a weird look.

"Yurei." Katsuki said in a low voice, getting her attention again. She looked at him, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion. He nodded his head towards the edge of the eating area. They were all outside that day.

"Fine." Yurei said, and pushed herself to her feet.

They walked in silence, ignoring the idle chat and laughter around them. A lot of people were outdoors, so they had to walk a ways to find a place to talk alone. They went to the side of the boy's cabin, which although not entirely private, was at least out of view of most traffic.

Yurei started to cross her arms over her chest, flinched, and then put her hands in her pockets instead. She looked up at him, looking pale and tired, with her jaw tense as she tried not to show how much pain she was in.

"You at least have a fractured or broken rib. There's no way you're okay." Katsuki said in a low voice.

"I'm fine." Yurei said. He stepped forward, and very, very gently reached out to her injured ribs, barely even touching them before she winced in pain. "Recovery Girl is going to be here tonight. It doesn't matter."

"You should go lie down before you make the injury worse." Katsuki told her.

"... after I eat lunch, I'll see if the teachers want me to do anything, and if not, then I'll go lie down. I wasted a lot of time yesterday not training and I had to sit out for a lot of games today." Yurei argued.

"You used your quirk almost constantly all day yesterday, evading us. I would count that as training. You're exhausted, I fucked up your ribs, and you could have internal damage. Haru-whatever doesn't know what the fuck she's talking about."

"She's trained."

"She's a student. You take so many first aid classes that you probably know more than she does. If someone else was experiencing your symptoms, what would you do?" Katsuki asked her.

"It doesn't fucking matter how many first aid classes I've taken. I'm shit at medical stuff, anyway."

"Since fucking when?"

"It doesn't matter. If my dad was here, he'd tell me to keep going."

"Your dad would tell you to train despite having multiple fractured or broken ribs?" Katsuki asked her.

"Just fuck off, alright? Let me eat my damn food and train." Yurei snapped at him, and walked off.

Katsuki clenched his jaw, debating what to do, and ended up following her.

10.

April 25th, Wednesday, 1:30 PM

"How many people have you used your emotions quirk on at once?" Aizawa asked her on the edge of the training field. Everyone else was working hard. Some of them were with trainers, others not. Greg was struggling to explain something to Deku.

"About 30 at a time before I start to struggle." Yurei answered.

"Try pushing that limit. Ask people what they want to feel for the next hour, and then use your quirk on them. There's over 50 people here, so there should be more than enough to challenge yourself." Aizawa said.

"I'm going to have to eat a lot of food afterwards." Yurei reminded him.

"That's fine. We have plenty of food to spare."

11.

April 25th, Wednesday, 5:15 PM

Katsuki was pretty satisfied with how his training went. He was tired and exhausted, sore from that morning, and his quirk spent.

As he slowly ate his dinner, Yurei sat with her head in her folded arm, looking asleep. She'd used her emotions quirk a lot that day.

"Remember to eat." Katsuki said, and nudged her shoulder.

"I talked to the cook. After Recovery Girl sees me, I'll eat." Yurei replied.

"So Bakugou," Skin Person spoke, getting his attention. She was sitting across from them. "You have a really impressive quirk. It must be difficult to not burn people when you're fighting them."

"Not really. The force behind the explosions cause more blunt damage than burns." Katsuki answered.

"That still seems really dangerous, to you and your opponent."

"That's kind of the point. I'm going to be a hero that beats up bad guys." He was pretty sure that she didn't like him. Not that he really cared.

"You okay, Yurei?" Skin Person asked.

"Just tired." Yurei replied.

"I heard that your class got to work with Hair Element last week. That must have been amazing." Skin Person brought up.

"It was pretty cool." Mina confirmed.

Katsuki recalled that Yurei was heartbroken after meeting her.

"I don't see the appeal. She seemed kind of bitchy to me." Katsuki voiced, and immediately, the entire table (except Yurei) turned on him, yelling about how he was wrong.

12.

April 25th, Wednesday, 6:30 PM

After Recovery Girl healed her (not completely healed, but partially), Katsuki walked with Yurei over to the kitchen. The cook had set aside the leftovers from dinner for her to eat.

She didn't waste any time, immediately shoving food into her mouth and devouring everything in sight.

The cook left in a hurry.

After about fifteen minutes of straight eating, she paused, looking like she'd fallen asleep with a mouth full of rice.

"Oi, sleep after you've eaten." Katsuki said loudly, waking her up. Katsuki leaned against the wall, casually staring outside at their socializing classmates. It had been a perfect week, so far, for training. Everyone was tired but in high spirits.

Tomorrow, the teachers were pairing up third years and first years. The third years would be giving advice to their younger peers.

The idea of a random ass third year telling him how to use his quirk annoyed him, but it couldn't be helped. Apparently first years would be able to give feedback to third years, too, so he'd be able to critique them. He was curious about how that would go.

Upon hearing a quiet calm in the room, he looked over to see that Yurei had fallen asleep again. "OI!" Katsuki shouted, and she jumped, going back to eating.

He liked doing that a little too much. Seeing her cheeks so red and flustered was cute, too. After about an hour of her eating half the kitchen, she passed out on the floor. She'd eaten enough that he wasn't too worried about her, so instead of waking her, he knelt down next to her and cleaned off her face.

She was snoring softly, her face still bruised, and slight hitch in her breath. Once she was decent, he contemplated throwing her over his shoulder, but remembered her ribs. If he carried her bridal style, everyone would give him shit for it.

_Or they'll stop giving me shit for tackling her._

Even the third years were poking jabs at him for that. Apparently it was frowned upon for guys to tackle their 100 lbs girlfriends in a dumb game.

_A game that I won. _He thought with a confident smirk.

Deciding to take the risk, Katsuki picked her up, bringing her against his chest, and tried to be gentle and conscientious. That didn't come naturally to him. Once she was secure, he went out the back, and headed towards the women's cabin.

"Oi." Someone called out, and he turned, seeing green guy and Aizawa by the door he'd just exited. "What happened?"

"She ate a bunch of food and passed out. I'm taking her back to her cabin." Katsuki said.

"She's not at the girls cabin anymore, she's at the female staff cabin." Aizawa said.

"Where's that?" Katsuki asked.

"I'll show you." Aizawa said, and indicated for green guy to stay there.

Green guy awkwardly gave him a thumbs up. He always looked so nervous and awkward.

Aizawa walked him over to the right cabin, and Katsuki walked in, finding Yurei's stuff immediately. She was in the corner, away from everyone else, but her stuff was on the top bunk.

"Not going to make things easy for me, are you?" Katsuki said tiredly as he shifted to rest her on the bottom bunk edge. He reached up, grabbing her sleeping bag and pillow, and put them on the lower bunk next to her. Then, leaning over her, he pulled down the zipper and opened up the bag.

Carefully, he picked her up again, getting her inside.

"Fuck." He cursed quietly when he bumped his head. "I should have let you sleep in the fucking kitchen." He got the pillow under her head, and frowned at the mess that her hair was. That was going to be a nightmare to untangle.

_She's turning me into a girl._ He thought irritably. She looked so relaxed, for the first time that day.

A tired yawn escaped his throat.

… a tiny nap won't hurt. Katsuki lay down next to her, almost instantly falling asleep.

Aizawa was tempted to make Bakugou go back to his cabin, but decided against it. The situation was innocent enough, and the female staff would tell him to leave in a few hours.

13.

April 25th, Wednesday, 8:00 PM

A while later, Katsuki woke up feeling calm and refreshed, and left the cabin.

The campground had gone dark, and he heard some commotion in the woods. He found a path and followed it, yawning along the way, and seeing a fire through the trees.

Pain suddenly erupted from his stomach, feeling like he'd been punch in the gut. He fell to the ground, gripping his stomach, and vomited.

"Who the fuck did that!?" Katsuki growled, looking around him in the dark path.

"Eh? Who's out there!?" Someone called out from the group.

"Whoever the fuck just hit me, you are DEAD!" Katsuki yelled as he stood, and looked around while sparking his hands, looking for the source of the hit. He didn't see them, but he could feel them watching him.

"Show yourself!" Katsuki yelled as he looked around, unable to see or find anyone near him.

"You okay, Bakugou?" Eijirou asked from the fire.

He knew someone hit him. He-

They struck him hard, in the back of the head, and he pivoted, using his explosive quirk on them. His stomach was targeted again, and he tensed against the hit as he tried to grab their arm, but they slipped out of his grasp.

There was no one there. He was fighting air.

"SHOW YOURSELF, ASSHOLE!" Katsuki yelled at them, but then his solar plex was hit, and he was sent flying back towards the campfire. He landed on something hot and sharp, and tumbled away, hitting a log, abruptly stopping.

His classmates screamed in alarm.

"Put him out!" Someone yelled, and as Katsuki started to get up, a blanket was thrown on him and multiple people were patting him down. He winced against the pain of them touching his new wounds.

"Fuck off! Where the fuck is that asshole!?" Katsuki yelled as he got up, shoving them away, and looked around.

"Who are you fighting?!" Deku asked.

"They must have some invisibility quirk. I couldn't fucking see him." Katsuki said as he looked around, searching for the assailant.

14.

April 25th, Wednesday, 8:30 PM

Katsuki silently fumed as he sat in the infirmary, getting checked out by Professor Arubai.

He got some pretty extensive burns from the fire. The teachers had wanted him to get a thorough check up before having Recovery Girl heal him. He'd gotten some pretty extensive burns on his back, along with some cuts and splinters.

"And you're sure that you didn't see them?" Aizawa asked him again.

"They were invisible and fast. They hit hard, too." Katsuki said, and cursed as Arubai touched part of his back.

"Did you check the tapes of this morning, when Kasai was hit?" Kan asked Aizawa.

"Yes. It appears that she was hit by an invisible force, too." Aizawa said.

"I've been hearing strange things the last few days, like items going missing and being misplaced, but I figured that was typical camping things. Students messing with each other. Maybe we have an invisible trickster here?" Kan suggested.

"An invisible tricker that can beat up Bakugou?" Aizawa asked.

"There was that family in the news last year- that family of invisibility quirk users that went camping and terrorized other campers. Maybe they're just taking things too far. Maybe they didn't like the way Bakugou tackled his girlfriend, so they retaliated." Kan suggested, and Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him.

"That's possible. Mirio would also be capable of this." Aizawa added.

"It wasn't Mirio." Katsuki said. He'd been punched by enough people to start recognizing the way they hit. Mirio's fighting style was different.

"You sure?" Aizawa asked, and Katsuki nodded.

Hearing someone enter the room, he looked up, and saw Yurei walk in. Her hair was sopping wet, her skin damp, and her face clean. She looked significantly better than last he saw her, having changed into a clean t-shirt and jeans, skin clean, and eyes more alert.

"What the hell happened to you?" Yurei asked as she walked in, but kept her distance, eyeing the doctor behind him.

"Some invisible asshole threw me into a fire." Katsuki said.

"Invisible?" Yurei asked.

"We think it might have been the same person that hit you this morning at the game. On the tapes, it looks like you weren't hit by anything, you just went flying." Aizawa explained.

"... huh." Yurei said, and glanced to her side, where nothing was.

"If it is the family of invisibility quirk users, how do you want to deal with this?" Kan asked Aizawa.

"We'll investigate this first, and ask around to confirm whether or not they're here. After we've confirmed it, we'll make an announcement through the speakers, and request that they leave. On Friday we'll report it to authorities." Aizawa said.

"A 'family of invisible quirk users'?" Yurei asked.

"Last year there was a bunch of invisibility quirk users who ran around causing mischief for campers. We're wondering if that's what's happening here." Kan said.

"... huh. Creepy." Yurei muttered.

"Once I get my hands on them, they're fucking dead." Katsuki said. Then, Yurei glided away, to the corner of the room, and seemed to be looking at something.

Some guy appeared and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Found one." Yurei said.

"Eh? How did you see him?!" Kan gasped.

"Sensed him with my emotions quirk. I thought he was one of Hana's ghosts, which is why I didn't say anything before." Yurei said casually.

_That asshole was watching me this entire time!?_

"Kasai, come with us to question him." Aizawa instructed.

Katsuki flinched as Arubai touched his back again.

15.

April 25th, Wednesday, 8:45 PM

They took him to the place that Arubai had been doing meetings with students.

Kan and Aizawa tied the boy down, and the room was cramped for four people. Yurei took a seat in the other chair, and patiently waited.

"Can you make him susceptible to talking with your quirk?" Aizawa asked her.

"I can make him love us more than his own mother, I can make him high as a kite, I can make him depressed- I can make him feel anything, but I can't force him to say anything." Yurei answered.

"You can make people high with your quirk?" Kan asked.

"I can make people feel any emotion or state of mind as a result of mind altering drugs, so long as I've been around someone who's experienced any of those things." Yurei answered.

"You must be fun at parties." Kan commented.

"Make him high. Make him relaxed and easy to get information from." Aizawa instructed.

"Do you want me to lead the questions or you? A pretty girl might have better luck getting information out of a teenage boy than you." Yurei asked.

"You can lead it at first. Just find out why he's here and their numbers." Aizawa said.

"Okie doke." Yurei said, and took her socks and shoes off. She then walked around, sat on the table, and put her bare feet on the boy's exposed hands by his thighs.

The boy looked a bit younger than her, with shaggy hair and dirty skin. He wore simple blue shirt and shorts. There was an orange strip in his otherwise black hair.

As his eyes blinked open, she slowly altered his emotional state, and smiled at him.

"Hi there. My name is Yurei Kasai, but you can call me Yurei." Yurei introduced in a bubbly voice and added a giggle. A slight blush tinted his pinks, and he let out a nervous giggle.

"What's your name?" Yurei asked.

"Y-you can see me?" He stuttered.

"Of course I can, silly." Yurei giggled. He was distracted enough to not notice the teachers or the bindings. "Why wouldn't I be able to see you?" Yurei asked.

"B-because of my invisibility quirk. You're really pretty. Even with the bruise, you're pretty. I see why my brother really likes you." He said in a lofty voice and pink cheeks. His eyes were half-lidded.

"Awe, thanks! You think I'm cute?" Yurei asked, and he nodded. "Have you been watching me the last few days?"

"My brother and that weirdo have. I wasn't really interested, but you're a lot prettier up close." He said.

"What's your name?" Yurei asked.

"Sh-shoto." Shoto answered.

"What's your brother's name? Has he been spying on me, too?" Yurei asked with a mock pout.

"The weird guy paid him to help him watch you. I didn't get it until now." Shoto said.

"What weird guy, Shoto?"

"Some guy in a mask. He's really weird. He paid my bro a lot of money to be here. Like, a lot."

"Why would he do that? Is it only one guy?"

"I think he's getting information for someone else, or something. I dunno. He gave my family the location and date, and… you have a really pretty mouth."

"What's your family like?" Yurei asked. She tried to guide his emotions to be a bit more innocent and closer to romantic love rather than physical.

"Annoying. My little sister is annoying. She just fights constantly."

"Is she here, too? Can I meet her?"

"She likes you. She was so pissed when that one guy hit you. I tried to stop her from going after him, but she went nuts. She's fucking insane like that."

"Eeeeh? Your little sister beat up Bakugou?" Yurei asked.

"She's not little, she's a monster when she's upset. Some guy didn't call her back or some shit, and ever since, she's a bitch."

_I feel like I'd get along with her._

"Who else is here, Shoto-kun? Are all of you invisibility quirk users?" Yurei asked.

"My parents aren't here, just my bro and sis. I'm a lot stronger than both of them, you know." She got some more information about his family before knocking him out again, and looked to her teachers.

"How'd I do?" Yurei asked.

"I wish you'd gotten more information on the person who hired him." Aizawa said, looking contemplative.

"I get the feeling that his brother will know more about him. This guy doesn't know much." Yurei said, and her stomach growled hungrily. Continuously altering someone's emotions took more energy from simply keeping them in a static emotional state. "I need food. After I eat, I can question him more." Yurei said.

"Release your quirk." Aizawa ordered.

"That'll wake him up." Yurei pointed out, and he nodded. "Alright, but he won't be as forthcoming."

Yurei deactivated her quirk and went back to the chair, to put her socks and shoes back on. Shoto slowly started waking up, blinking awake, and then jumped when he saw the two teachers by the door. Aizawa started interrogating him more aggressively, asking why he was there, who hired him, and related questions.

"I'm here by myself! I'm alone!" Shoto yelled in response. He was frightened and angry.

"Who hired you?" Aizawa asked as he got closer.

"No one!"

"That's not what you were saying a few minutes ago. Who is the 'weird guy' that you talked about?" Aizawa asked, and Shoto's eyes widened.

"I- shit! Fuck! I don't know, dude, he just gave my bro a bunch of money. I don't know anything about him. He wears a mask all the time."

"What kind of mask? What's he like?" Aizawa asked.

"He's super weird, and constantly contradicts himself! Half his mask is black, the other half silver. He paid us a bunch of money to make him invisible and let him spy on you guys. He's been watching some chick that goes through stuff. He's a perv. Sometimes weirdos like him will hire us to let him spy on chicks."

"Shit." Yurei muttered, recalling the other night. He'd been watching them.

"Do you know who it is?" Kan asked her.

"Sounds like Twice from the League of Villains." Yurei said.

"Woah, woah, we don't work for the League of Villains! It's just some perv!" Shoto yelled.

_At least I haven't sensed him around when I showered or changed._ Yurei thought in comfort. Twice was probably doing surveillance work for the league and watched Yurei out of curiosity from their last encounter. Hopefully, he didn't see anything of interest.

"I think we should get all of the students back to the school." Aizawa said, looking to Kan.

"Agreed. Kasai, do you think that you could find his siblings?" Kan asked.

"Not if everyone is running around in a panic. If everyone is in their cabins I could walk around and potentially find them, but if we're evacuating, there's no way I could find them in that mess." Yurei answered.

Her stomach growled again.

"Go pack and then get food. Kan, let the other teachers know and start evacuating." Aizawa instructed.

Yurei was fast as she hurried to the staff cabin, packed her things, and then hurried to the kitchen. She was starving.

She ate fast, knowing that they would be leaving soon.

16.

April 25th, Wednesday, 9:15 PM

Katsuki waited outside the bus, his belongings already shoved inside, waiting for Yurei. Aizawa said that she was at the kitchen loading up on food, and that he wanted to give her as much time as possible, given how important it was for her to eat after using her quirk.

Once everyone else was onboard, Katsuki would run over and get her.

He refrained from shivering as a cold breeze wafted by. Recovery Girl had healed him, mostly, but his back was still sore. Sitting in the bus, with his injured back constantly irritated from the seat, didn't sound appealing.

People were rushing into the buses, some of them looking tired like they'd just been woken up. Ochaco was one of the ones to be half asleep, wearing her pink pajamas, her hair a mess, and eyes half-lidded. Tsu was pushing her around and guiding her to the bus.

Mina and Eijirou's clothes were disheveled. Her hair was messier than usual. When they got on the bus, Aizawa raised an eyebrow at them, taking in their state of dress, but said nothing as he checked their names off on the list.

"It looks like we have almost everyone. Head over to the kitchen and get Kasai." Aizawa instructed, and Katsuki nodded. He jogged away from the bus, towards the lit cabins, and was wary as he approached the kitchen.

When he got there, he heard voices inside. He didn't recognize one of them; so he stood by the doorway, peering inside, and saw that Yurei was talking to someone. The person was tall with wild, dark hair that went in every direction. They had a soft, feminine voice, which contrasted with their hulking figure. They were close to six feet tall, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and had significant muscle.

"It's okay, Christine. Just come with me to talk to my teachers, and we'll work everything out." Yurei said.

"Even though I hurt that boy?" She asked.

"You were doing it to protect me, right?" Yurei asked.

"Yes! The way you reacted to that doctor… it just… I can tell that you were hurt before. That's the way I reacted when the doctors touched me, too, for the rape kit." The girl said.

_What the hell?_ Katsuki wondered.

"People just don't get it. People, like that doctor, just don't get it. They never will. You've just got to brush them off. You wouldn't believe the shit people have said to me after Ikari attacked me." Yurei said.

"My brothers think I asked for it. That, dressing in a skirt meant that I wanted to be raped. Like, hello? That's not how it works." The girl said.

… _are they… bonding over…?_

"Katsuki isn't bad, though. The guy you beat up. He legitimately thought the tackle wouldn't hurt me, and it was an accident. My first week at school, he beat the ever living hell out of my rapist." Yurei said.

"Really? He doesn't just growl and attack people?" The girl asked.

Katsuki's eye twitched.

"He does that, too. I wish he wasn't quite as rough sometimes, but he's working on it. He's making an effort." Yurei said, and he noticed the bruises on her upper arms. _If you hadn't scared the hell out of me yesterday, I wouldn't have hit you._ Katsuki thought irritably.

"Why date him at all? If he's so rough." The girl asked.

"He has a good heart. I've also started to be cautious around people that pretend to be nice. I was best friends with my rapist for most of my life, and I had no idea that guy was a creep." Yurei said.

"I know, right? Mine was so nice, up until… you know. Why do guys suck?" The girl asked.

"Are we ready to go, Katsuki?" Yurei asked, calling out to him. The girl turned in alarm and shock, and disappeared.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you. He's probably just here to let me know that we're ready to go." Yurei assured, and shouldered two bags of what he guessed were food. She was munching on chips.

The girl started to reappear, but she was still opaque.

"Don't worry, everything will be okay. Do you want to hold my hand?" Yurei asked the girl, who looked between Katsuki and Yurei, seeming unsure. Yurei kept her hand extended, gave her an encouraging smile, and waited.

Slowly, the girl became more visible, and reached out to hold Yurei's hand.

Katsuki watched them warily, and said nothing. He would have preferred beating her up and dragging her corpse to the bus, but that would piss Yurei off, and if the girl tried to run, Yurei could easily knock her out. He walked outside and then let them walk slightly in front of him, making their way back to the bus. Both of them seemed remarkably friendly to each other, especially considering that they probably just met.

_She was able to kick my ass._ Katsuki thought angrily. She was dangerous.

The walk back to the bus was short, and Aizawa was visibly surprised by the girl's calm arrival. Yurei kept their hands locked, and calmly introduced her to their teacher. She assured Aizawa that she didn't know that the man who hired them worked with the League of Villains, and that she would cooperate with them to catch him and her brother.

As they talked, Katsuki looked around, keeping an eye out for any attackers.

"Thank you for coming forward, Christine. I'll be sure to tell authorities that you helped us." Aizawa said, and Katsuki saw Yurei shift and look away.

"I'll be right back." Yurei said, dropped her bags, and sunk into the ground, disappearing.

Aizawa kept his eyes on Christine. Katsuki looked around them, eyeing the shadows, and looking for her to reappear again.

"I got the other brother, but he's heavy! Katsukiiiii, help a girl out?" Yurei whined, and he could see her faint form in the trees. She was waving him down.

"Why can't you phase the asshole over here?" Katsuki barked as he started walking towards her.

"I don't want to phase other people until I'm more confident in my quirk. I don't want to accidentally phase his skin off or make him explode." Yurei said.

"He's an asshole. Why do you care if he keeps his skin?" Katsuki asked, and when he got closer, saw that there was an unconscious man by her feet. He looked older than the other one, possibly in his mid twenties, with shorter hair and a bulkier build.

"I don't want to waste Haruko's time and energy regrowing all of his skin. It would also be rude." Yurei said, but then added, "But I mean if you're too weak after getting beat up by a girl, I can just call over Eijirou-"

"Fuck off." Katsuki retorted as he bent down, picked up the loser, and slung him over his shoulder. Yurei smiled at him, and he rolled his eyes as he started walking back to the bus.

"Did you see anyone else out there with him?" Aizawa asked.

"Is he okay!?" Christine asked, her eyes wide in alarm. She looked like a crazy feral child.

"He's fine, don't worry, I just knocked him out with my quirk. I promised to not use unnecessary force with him." Yurei told her.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, and turned to Aizawa.

"Set him against the tire. We need to find out if the League of Villains is going to launch an attack." Aizawa instructed. Katsuki tossed the heavy body to the ground, letting him thud against the giant tired, and his sister gasped.

"Be careful!" Christine yelled, and knelt next to him. She checked her brother's head, and fixed his posture, so that he wasn't slouching as much.

"Yurei, release your quirk." Aizawa ordered.

"Do you want me to use my quirk to get information out of him?" Yurei asked.

"Only if he doesn't talk. We need to be fast." Aizawa said, and the guy started to wake up.

Aizawa got him talking pretty fast. According to him, the person who paid him bailed as soon as they started the evacuation. He didn't say anything indicative of an attack, and that he was just "observing".

When he said that he'd been watching Yurei, Katsuki's chest spasmed uncomfortably, and he tightened his hands into fists. He was about to go forward, to get more information, when Yurei came up to him and used her quirk to calm him down. She pushed her hand against his chest, leaning into him to keep him from moving.

"Release your quirk." Katsuki whispered.

"Calm down. He wasn't actually watching me, it was a cover, so that the siblings wouldn't know he was spying on our class for the League of Villains. Chill." Yurei whispered.

"How do you know that he wasn't doing both?" Katsuki asked. "He could have used anyone's name, but he fucking chose yours."

"He fought me one-on-one at Mermaid Heel. I might be the only person he's actually interacted with from our class. Just cool it." Yurei whispered, but she was holding something back.

"What are you hiding?" Katsuki asked.

She wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Release your fucking quirk." Katsuki told her, and looked back over at the group. The guy was still relaying information to Aizawa, mostly about what he'd seen and what little he knew about the guy who hired them. Most of it was pointless information.

"If I'm going to be stuck on a bus with you for two hours, I don't want you getting pissed off and blowing us up." Yurei said in a low voice.

She flinched, bringing her hand to her head, and released her quirk. He felt the anger from before return, but this time, he focused on her. Her breathing seemed a little off, and her hand trembled slightly.

_Why the hell was that creep watching you?_ _What are you hiding?_

"Go eat food and get inside. You're going to pass out if you don't eat." Katsuki told her.

Yurei turned, gliding over to the two bags of food she'd dropped before, and pulled out a bag of chips. She started munching as she stayed nearby, in case they needed anything.

A few of the other teachers came by, checking with Aizawa to get an update on what was going on.

17.

April 25th, Wednesday, 10:00 PM

Katsuki rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time.

While most of the people on the bus were asleep, Yurei wasn't. She was sitting next to Christine, the feral freak, talking about girly crap.

As soon as they get back to campus, she was going to be in handcuffs, but Yurei was talking to her like an old friend. Not someone who had been actively stalking them for the last few days and helped the League of Villains get valuable information from them.

He didn't get it, and it bothered him that Yurei was hiding something from him. Something about another guy, no less.

He tried to fall asleep, having two seats to himself, but he couldn't. He was tired and sore, but he couldn't fall asleep with an enemy so close.

Yurei's stomach grumbled, catching his attention.

"Are you still hungry?" Christine asked.

"When we get back to the dorms, I'm probably going to eat half the kitchen. Sometimes if I use my quirk too much, it makes me super hungry, and if I don't eat enough, I can lapse into a coma." Yurei explained.

_Why are you telling an enemy that?_ Katsuki wondered agitatedly.

"Oh no! Do we need to get you more food?" Christine asked.

"We're only an hour or so out from our school. I'll be fine." Yurei said, and her stomach grumbled again. "So, where did you go to school?"

"I was home schooled…" Christine answered, and kept talking. Katsuki rolled his eyes, wondering what the hell was going through Yurei's head, and still wanted to know what she was keeping from him.


	18. Pep talk, for those who need it

I sincerely hope this helps for anyone who needs it. We're all in this together.

* * *

Hey

Life is hard right now. No matter your age, race, gender, etc., things are hard right now. It's okay to feel sad. It's okay to need to unwind and mentally escape for a while. It's okay to feel whatever you're feeling right now.

The last few years have been hard. There has been constant strife, constant arguing, and now, even when facing a terrifying disease, we still can't come together. It feels hopeless and disparaging. It feels like we have no chance of a better future.

One of the beautiful things about this period of time, though? Everything is changing, and the Internet is more amazing than most of us realize. We're able to connect with people all over the world. We're able to learn about people we otherwise would never even hear about. Through stories like fanfics, we're able to discover new perspectives we'd otherwise never be exposed to.

Even though we're seeing the darkest sides of humanity right now, even though it feels hopeless, it's not.

And you know why that is?

Because we can see that darkness. If enough people see that darkness, it starts to go away, slowly over time. The more people that see those monsters, the less likely more monsters are to form. Slowly, and painfully, people are becoming more aware of the world around them, and even though it doesn't feel like it, people as a whole are changing.

The more pain people see, the more people see how messed up the world is, the more it'll change for the better. If no one sees how messed up the world is, they won't care enough to change it. I know that seeing other people suffering is painful. I know that it's uncomfortable to see other people struggling, and it's okay to need breaks from that.

But, listening to someone's story, however painful, makes you a better person.

Spreading knowledge, makes the people around you better people.

Just looking someone in the eye and showing compassion, makes us all better.

People are terrible, stupid, and stubborn. They are ugly and disgusting.

But, they're also beautiful and compassionate. For the last five years, I've been working on a series of books designed to help people become more understanding. To help them understand complex concepts like systemic racism, sexism, and gender. I've tried to create a dynamic and exciting storyline, to keep people interested. Use language that everyone, regardless of their education/background, can understand. I've been using fanfics to try and come up with the best writing styles to convey ideas. I've tried to flesh out the world so that people can become fully immersed. I've based the languages and cultures on non-European ones in order to promote different cultures that people normally wouldn't care to look at, and have countless poc characters in various positions of power, to normalize that to the average person and make real poc feel good. To embolden them and read about people like them who face impossible odds and still persevere.

I dated someone for about… four years? He had, effectively, paranoid schizophrenia- he thought that people were making gang signs at him. He thought people were transmitting instructions to his brain, and were trying to train him into being a rapist. I watched the person I loved lose his mind, which was one of the most painful experiences I have ever felt, and stayed with him during most of his recovery. One of the things that happened because of that, is that I became demoralized from explaining things. He could have the most insane, implausible, stupid ideas in his head, and no matter how many ways I explained he was wrong, no matter how much evidence I had, it simply didn't matter.

So I escaped into my Soul Circus series, creating characters and a world to disappear into. There, I could create a world of my own making. I could explain complex concepts without someone fighting back.

Back in high school, when I was sad, I would read the stories of people who were suffering. Racism, sexism, ect. My logic was "I'm too weak to stand up for poc. I'm too shy and soft spoken to speak up when I see discrimination in person, I'm too weak to correct someone in a conversation… so, I'll listen. I'll make sure that, every single time I see someone's story online, begging people to listen to them, I'll listen. I may not be able to speak up, I may not be able to stop it, but I will make sure they're heard, and I won't add to the hatred and bigotry. I can't change people, and I'm too weak to speak up and confront people, so I'll listen and make sure that every voice is heard."

My Soul Circus series is a project I channeled everything I know about people into. I tried to use the stories I read about in high school. I used my pain to try and bring life to my characters. When I was in college, I took countless classes to learn about people- anthropology, sociology, psychology, life drawing, dance- I was fascinated by people, too scared to interact with them directly most of the time, but I wanted to learn. I pushed my personal boundaries by taking ballroom dancing classes. I went to a Sufi Camp to learn about other cultures. I exposed myself to as many people as possible, putting myself in situations where I could learn and observe other people in various settings, without putting myself at too much risk.

I listened, and I felt the pain of others.

I'm not saying all of that to brag or promote my books- they're not published yet, and I'm still working on them. I say that to show that there are people who care. There are people who are listening.

Even when it feels helpless, people are trying.

Even when it seems like all people are heartless monsters, they're not, the monsters are just loud.

Even though it feels like we are heading towards a dystopian future- and are arguably already in one- I am still reaching for a Star Trek future. People are dumb, selfish, and short-sighted, and it is painful to acknowledge that- but this is not the end. One of the things I have learned from this ordeal is that listening to people suffering is more powerful than people give it credit for. It's easy to make a sandwich for a homeless person and walk away- it is painful, uncomfortable, and hard to research, listen, and explore different ways to help them that aren't intuitive. Listening to people and expanding your horizon is more painful and difficult than almost anything else, and is undervalued. Listening to someone describe how they were brutally attacked for something as menial as their skin pigment is harder than just giving them a sandwich and leaving. Listening to others and altering your behavior (within reason) as a form of respect, is legitimately hard.

I want my Star Trek future- where being poor isn't a death sentence, and "homeless people deserve to die" isn't a common belief. Where we value science and equality. Where we build each other up, not tear each other down. Where we come together to accomplish great and amazing things, and embrace diversity and conversation, not screaming and violence.

We have the power to coordinate like never before. We are connecting to other people, like never before. We are seeing the world in ways that have literally never been seen before.

It's okay to feel scared. It's okay to feel overwhelmed. It's okay to be critical and pessimistic.

Just remember that you're not alone. If we all try hard enough, we can get that Star Trek future, it's just going to take a while.


	19. Chapter 18

**Author's Note (today/present):** I'm glad it seems like I may have helped at least a few people with my previous updates. Sending all the love and good vibes to everyone~

If anyone's been curious about my family from my previous author's notes- so far, they haven't gotten sick, to my knowledge. They're not taking Covid-19 seriously, like so many others though, so... we'll see. My heart goes out to everyone who is suffering right now, as a result of Covid-19, police brutality, and all the other terrifying things going on right now. My 'pep talk' chapter isn't the best, but I'll leave it up for anyone who might benefit from it.

Please, stay home when you can. Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands.

Be kind, listen, and grow.

As always, thank you for the reviews, faves, and shares. I hope you enjoy the chapter~

**Author's Note (few months after writing this): **it took me a long time to figure out how to write Mitsuki. I'm not sure why I was so fixated on making her gay in my stories- rereading this (months after writing it) her dialogue feels so forced/off. In this story I did a lot of experimentation with different characters, and it didn't always turn out great. Later in this story I tried to comment on transphobia, and that ended badly. T_T I think I finally got Mitsuki's character down in the most recent story I've been working on, which is about Katsuki's wife. (it'll be awhile until I post it, but it has a lot of really fun writing techniques :3)

* * *

**Chapter 18**

_Revenge_

April 26th, Thursday, 1:30 PM

The next day, after attending his classes, Katsuki had planned to interrogate Yurei on what happened yesterday. Unfortunately, she was at the fucking police station, helping _Christine._

They had clicked a little too well. Katsuki didn't trust her.

He sat in the commons, ignoring the people around him, and focusing on his phone. Having his phone back was nice, after going so many days without it. That had probably been his least favorite part of their field trip.

Deku, Ochaco, and a bunch of others were eating a feast over in the dining room. They were cheering, doing weird dances, and other dorky crap. He checked his text messages again, in case he missed one from Yurei, and his eye twitched.

"Hey Katsuki, where's Yurei?" Mina asked as she walked over.

"At the police station, helping that weird chick." Katsuki replied.

"Eh? You mean that invisible girl? The one that had been spying on us?" Mina asked.

"Yes." Katsuki replied.

"Why is she there? Why is she helping her?" Mina asked.

"Fuck if I know. They really hit it off last night." Katsuki said.

"You don't think Yurei has a crush on her, do you?" Mina asked, and Katsuki narrowed his eyes at her.

"Of course not. I'm ten times more attractive than that weird, feral whatever." Katsuki told her, and Mina grinned.

"You're jealous?" Mina asked.

"My bisexual girlfriend is hanging out with some chick she just met instead of me. I'm concerned." Katsuki said.

"Oh, don't worry, Bakugou. I'm sure it's innocent. Sexy, but innocent." Mina said, her grin widening, and Katsuki regretted telling her anything. Knowing her, she'd turn this into some weird sex fantasy. "Yurei is head over heels for you… even after you threw her at a jellyfish and tackled her so hard you broke three of her ribs."

"She forgave me for those." Katsuki grit.

"If you say so." Mina said with a shrug, and walked off.

Katsuki grunted, and turned back to his phone.

_Me: r u seriously still at the station? Get the fuck back here, loser._

1.

April 26th, Thursday, 1:30 PM

Yurei flashed them an awkward smile as she waited for Momentum to pick up.

The police station seemed busy that day, with people coming and going. Yurei was seated next to Christine, near Officer Korei, who seemed calm but tired as he waited. He distracted himself with his cup of coffee, occasionally glancing at his screen, and flashing a smile at Christine.

Christine was anxious and nervous as they waited. Her hair was still wild, her clothes disheveled from her night in a cell, and there were patches of dirt all over her skin.

"Hello?" Momentum answered.

"Hey, Momentum, this is Yurei. Do you have a minute?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked.

"I was wondering if you still have that one youth program at your agency going, the one where you take in people under twenty who have committed minor offenses and work with them to stay out of trouble." Yurei asked.

"Yeah, but it's hard to get in. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I met someone who fits that description, and she's a total sweetheart, and the officer I'm with would normally send her to Mermaid Heel, but after their heavy losses, their program isn't exactly functional. She doesn't feel safe going home and her parents didn't bother coming when she called them." Yurei explained.

"How do you know her? Is she a friend?"

"Her brothers dragged her into a sketch situation involving the League of Villains. She unwittingly helped them gain some information about students at my school. As soon as she realized the people involved, she came clean and told us everything she knew. We talked all the way back to town and she doesn't have a lot of options. Since she was so cooperative and kind I offered to help as much as I could. When she thought Bakugou was hurting me, she kicked the crap out of him." Yurei explained.

"Wait, she beat Bakugou in a fight?" Momentum asked in surprise.

"Yep. She's strong, fast, has a powerful quirk, and is super sweet. I can see a lot of bad people trying to take advantage of her. With the H.T.S. currently out of commission, she's at more risk." Yurei explained.

He seemed to consider her for a moment, pausing to think. Officer Korei was busying himself with paperwork.

"What's her quirk?" Momentum asked.

"Invisibility."

"And she's strong enough to win against Bakugou?"

"From what I heard, he couldn't land a single hit. He's still recovering."

Yurei glanced over to see that Christine's cheeks were red in embarrassment, and she looked down at her chipped nails, picking at them.

"She doesn't have a criminal history, either." Yurei added.

"Does she have anywhere to go right now?" Momentum asked.

"No. I'm sitting with her at the police station, and they can't let her leave unless another agency takes her. Either she stays in a cell until her court hearing, which will be a week or longer, or an agency takes responsibility for her. The police don't want her in a cell because of how many fights have been breaking out, along with recruiting strategies. Apparently some gangs have started purposely getting arrested so that they can recruit other people who got arrested." Yurei explained.

"I'm aware… let me get back to you. I'm friends with the person in charge of that program. I'll give her a call and see if she's interested in her." Momentum said.

"Thanks, Momentum, I appreciate it."

"No problem, I'll let you know what she says." Momentum said, and she hung up. Yurei relayed the information to them.

Then, she realized that Katsuki had been messaging her. She sighed tiredly.

"Thank you so much for helping me. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble." Christine told her.

"It's fine. Hopefully everything works out." Yurei said, and flashed her a smile.

"You look tired." Christine commented.

"I've had a pretty shitty week and went to classes this morning. After this I'm probably going to go back to the dorms and sleep… assuming Katsuki doesn't start yelling at me." Yurei said, and yawned into her hand.

"Why would he yell at you?" Christine asked.

"I did something stupid, and-"

"Are you Kasai? The Ghost?" Someone suddenly asked, and she looked up, seeing one of the officers near her.

"Yeah. Hi." Yurei said as she sat up straighter.

"My cousin was at Suzuki when the League of Villains attacked. She might have died if it wasn't for you. Thank you so much for what you did." He said.

"I'm glad she made it out okay. I had a friend working at that agency, too." Yurei replied. She hadn't expected anyone to react so strongly to her that day.

"Can I get you something? Coffee? A sandwich? The coffee place down the street has amazing bagels." He said.

"... coffee sounds nice. I'm half asleep right now." Yurei said.

"What kind?"

"... Americano with cream."

"Got it. I'll be right back." He said, and hurriedly left with a smile on his face.

_That was weird, but at least I get free coffee._

"You're that Kasai?" Officer Korei suddenly gasped, and she looked over to see him gaping at her. "I didn't recognize you without the hair! Usually it's done in that braid."

She still hadn't brushed out her hair from Monday. It was in a messy bun, emphasis on messy.

"It got tangled really bad the other day, and I haven't had time to fix it. I'm thinking about dying it again soon." Yurei said.

"Wait, are you some kind of famous hero? I thought you were a student?" Christine asked.

"Did you not hear about the League of Villains attack the other week?" The officer asked.

"I mean, I heard it happened, but not all the details." Christine said awkwardly.

"Kasai was the one that overheard their plans and warned the other agencies, and then slowed them down long enough to evacuate. She saved a lot of lives that day."

A few other officers came by, realizing who she was, and she suddenly wished that the other guy hadn't recognized her.

2.

April 26th, Thursday, 3:30 PM

After over two hours at the police station, Yurei was happy to leave.

She'd made some new friends, which was cool, but she was so tired. Christine also now felt extremely awkward around her, after learning that she was a little more than just a student training to be a hero.

As she stepped out of the police station, wielding her third coffee cup of the day, she felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket yet again. The wind picked up, threatening to knock her over, and she let another tired sigh, wishing that she was already back at campus.

"What are you doing here?" Someone asked as they approached her, and it took her a second to recognize Aizawa. He was in clothes slightly different than what he wore in class, with a dark green scarf instead of the gray one, and his hair was pulled back.

"I was helping Christine. I called Momentum at Orion and asked if they had a program that could take her. She was pretty scared so I stayed with her until the person from Orion showed up to take her." Yurei explained tiredly.

"In the future, you should call me when you do things like that. I can help with situations like this." Aizawa said, and she nodded mid yawn. "Do you have a ride back to the dorms?"

"... I was planning to walk. Or catch a bus… I don't know." Yurei said.

"You shouldn't be walking around downtown alone, especially since we know that Twice was targeting you specifically. Why didn't you take Bakugou with you?" Aizawa asked.

"Katsuki is being… Katsuki. I didn't think of bringing someone, I just got the call from Christine saying that her parents bailed and she didn't have anyone else to turn to, so I came straight over after class. What are you doing here?" Yurei asked.

He seemed tired, too. "I was going to see if they had any leads about what the League of Villains is up to, and check on the status of the invisible siblings. I can drive you back to school first, though."

"It's okay, I can walk. It's no biggie." Yurei said.

"It's over ten miles to the school, and it's not safe for you to be alone. Come on." Aizawa said.

"Am I in trouble?" Yurei asked.

"No. Come on." Aizawa repeated, and turned, nodding his head down the street.

Yurei sipped her drink as she walked with him, trying to stay awake. They walked the busy streets, avoiding bumping into other people, and were quiet. She saw a girl walk by with bright orange and red hair, with a beautiful gradient, and Yurei considered that for her own hair.

_Right. My hair._

Yurei chuckled, feeling her heart plummet at the memory of her idolized hero. Katsuki insisted that it was stupid, that she shouldn't care about what Hair Element said, but it was hard not to. He'd made the point that she'd already spent so much time on her hair that it was her own now, not just modeling after Hair Element, but she still needed to change her style more.

"What?" Aizawa asked.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

"I'm just tired. Don't mind me." Yurei said, and reached her sleeve up to her face, soaking up the tears before they fell. She took some deep breaths to calm herself down, and tried to think of something else. Something happy or just… distracting.

"How are your other classes going?" Aizawa asked.

"... they're going okay. I hate my art history class. I was never a fan of classical art. Sociology is interesting, though. A lot of the information isn't new but some of the statistics are fascinating. I'm learning a lot of cool stuff in that class." Yurei described.

"That's good. And how are you faring in the other two classes, with All Might and I?" Aizawa asked.

"Your class is going fine. There's a lot of worthwhile information. All Might's class is fine." _When the guest teacher doesn't crush my soul._

"All Might has never taught before this year, so if there's any feedback you have, I'd like to hear it. It would be confidential." Aizawa said, and they finally got to his car. It was parked a couple blocks away from the station.

She got in the passenger side, and felt slightly weird as she did. She was careful not to spill her drink, and was struck by how average his car was.

"All Might… is overall a good teacher. His classes feel like PE classes, which isn't bad, but I wish that there was a little more freedom in it. For example, if he had people put together exercise routines they'd like to do in class, approving them, and then letting them do their own thing, rather than making everyone do the same thing together. Like, a lot of the girls do need to bulk up more and add muscle, but they're awkward with weight lifting and there are other ways to build muscle. Having small groups decide their routine and work at their own pace while supporting each other would work better, in my opinion." Yurei explained as he drove.

"The concern with that method is that the students won't challenge each other, if they're in groups with people at their own level." Aizawa said.

"But then you get the problem of the stronger people having to slow down to the weaker person's level with the pairs. For example, Eijirou and Mina have been pairing up for classes, and they're absolutely terrible together. Eijirou can't lift as much weight as he's able because Mina can't spot him, and when they spar, he doesn't want to give her critiques because he's afraid it'll make her sad. Or, you get pairings like Hana and Momo, who will talk the entire class and not challenge each other.

"With small groups I feel like it would be easier to keep people accountable, have enough diverse knowledge to help everyone learn, and encourage teamwork, rather than just working in pairs and running a circuit…. That's just my opinion, though." Yurei explained, grateful for the distraction.

"It's a good idea, and we've had other training classes run like that. Sometimes one system works best for one class, but not for another." Aizawa commented.

"True." Yurei nodded, and flinched when she felt her headache return.

"You have my cell number, right?" Aizawa asked.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded, and then looked up, realizing that they had reached the school.

"If you're in a situation like this again, call me, and try not to leave campus alone. Only go in a group, if you can." Aizawa said.

"Okay. Thanks for the ride, sensei." Yurei thanked, and got out, careful with her coffee.

She shut the door, and waved as he drove off.

3.

April 26th, Thursday, 3:45 PM

Katsuki looked up when Yurei entered the door, and stood up from his seat. Her shoulders slumped when she saw him.

"Can we not do this now?" Yurei asked.

"Are you cheating on me?" Katsuki asked.

She stared at him for a moment, not saying anything, and just blinked at him. Then, she sighed.

"Are you?" Katsuki asked.

"No. Why the fuck do you think I have energy to fuck someone else? To fuck anyone?" Yurei asked as she moved past. He followed her up the stairs, following close behind.

"You have the energy to go to the police station for a chick you've known for less than a day." Katsuki pointed out.

"I'm running on pure caffeine fumes, honey. I didn't have the energy for it and I'm exhausted. Aizawa saw me at the station and was nice enough to drive me back."

"So now you're spending time with our teacher outside of class time?" Katsuki asked, and she scoffed, reaching for her key in her pocket, and pulled it out. She unlocked her door, pushed it open, and Katsuki came in after her.

"I'm not cheating on you, Katsuki." Yurei said as she tiredly moved around the room, putting things away and tossing her phone onto the nightstand. Katsuki closed the door behind them, and turned the light on.

"Then what the fuck are you hiding from me?" Katsuki asked.

"I fucked up with a thing, it was dumb and embarrassing, and I just…." Yurei spoke, and heavily sat on her bed, moving her hands to her face in a tired sigh. Her hair was still a mess, she smelled like coffee, and her white shirt was partway off her shoulder, revealing her purple bra strap.

Mina had taken a sadistic joy in describing the ways that Yurei could have been cheating on him. Unfortunately, he had a lot of different ideas of what she could have done, and all of them pissed him off to no end.

"You saw the video of me fighting the League of Villains, right?" Yurei asked.

"... yeah." Katsuki answered, confused.

"When Twice was trying to break my arms, there was a hole in his glove. I used my quirk to make him like me. Nothing serious, and of course my quirk would wear off, I just wanted to make him less likely to hurt me and more likely to cause drama." Yurei explained.

Katsuki tilted his head to the side.

"... so you made a psycho villain have a crush on you. On purpose." Katsuki said.

"People have fleeting feelings all the time, and they don't pursue them." Yurei said.

"But he came back." Katsuki said.

"I did the exact fucking thing people claim that I did to Ikari. I fucking know." Yurei snapped irritably.

"Why didn't you just knock him out? Why did you do that?" Katsuki said.

"If I knocked him out, they might have killed me and ran off, or just grabbed him and run. He was talkative and distracted them. He was more useful conscious." Yurei reasoned.

Katsuki thought back on the fight she was talking about. He'd given her a lot of shit for losing the way she did. She never even got a chance to fight back; as soon as she became solid, she was screwed.

"You didn't kiss him or anything, did you?" Katsuki asked.

"No, of course not." Yurei chuckled, and wiped her eyes. She was crying.

"Are you hungry?" Katsuki asked.

"Starving." Yurei replied.

4.

April 26th, Thursday, 7:00 PM

That night, another whimper left Yurei's pouty lips.

Mina was helping her untangle her hair.

They were using the best untangling, moisterizing, hair healthy stuff that Yurei owned, but it was still taking forever and painful. She was sitting sideways in the middle of the couch, facing Katsuki, who sometimes smiled when she made a sound indicative of pain. He was otherwise quiet, reading one of his textbooks, with smooth and silky hair and a well rested face.

_At least one of us has been getting sleep._

"Oooow," Yurei whined, and held her bent legs, glaring at Katsuki when he smiled again. "Why do you keep laughing at my pain, Jellyfish?"

"'Jellyfish'?" Katsuki asked.

"I want to have a nickname for you. Jellyfish was one of the names I was considering. Also, if you're going to insist on 'Blue Hair Girl', can you at least just call me 'Blue' for short? When people hear you say it, it makes people think that you just don't know my name." Yurei requested.

"Blue." Katsuki said, and looked up, seeming to contemplate the idea. "I'll think about it."

"I could call you 'blondie'." Yurei said.

"'Blondie'?" He asked with a frown.

"Because you're blonde." Yurei said, and he grunted. "What? Too feminine?"

"Yes."

"Does it threaten your masculinity too much?" Yurei asked, and he glared at her, grunting again. She grinned. "I think Blondie is a great nickname."

"I could just call you Bitch." Katsuki suggested.

"If you did that, I would call you 'Single'." Yurei said, and he grunted again.

She didn't like threatening to break up with him, but it was one of the only ways to establish boundaries with him. He didn't take her seriously unless she threatened to break up with him or phased out of the room.

"I'm going to dye my hair again soon. Are there any colors that you don't want me to do?" Yurei asked him.

"Why are you dying it? Because of the dumb hair lady?" Katsuki asked with a frown.

"Yes. I can't keep my hair like this if the person I modeled myself after hates me. I have to think of a new hair style. I'm thinking of doing a doing a red streak in the middle of my braid." Yurei said.

"Just keep it as it is. It looks fine." Katsuki said.

"I might just dye part of it, since dying it too much is bad for hair. I could dye the tips purple." Yurei said thoughtfully.

"You could go pink, and then we'd match." Mina said distractedly.

"Pink is lovely on you, Mina, but I don't like having pink hair." Yurei said, and realized her phone was ringing in her pocket. She pulled it out, saw that it was her aunt, and immediately answered. "What's up, auntie? Is mom okay?"

"'Okay' is not a word I would use to describe her. She's intolerable, she's freaking out, she's thinking of doing porn again. I don't know how to help her." Her aunt ranted, and Yurei let out a tired sigh.

"... what about Mrs. Bakugou? Can she… calm her down?" Yurei asked awkwardly, and Katsuki gave her a weird look.

"She moved in. She's making things worse."

"Mrs. Bakugou moved in with my mom? Are you sure?" Yurei asked, and Katsuki gave her another weird look.

"She moved in two days ago. She yells, your mother yells, they drink, they have 'friends' over… I don't think I can help your mother, I just…" Her aunt ranted.

"Take some deep breaths. What's going right now?" Yurei asked.

"Your mother invited some of her friends over. I hear moans from the living room. I'm afraid to go in there."

"... thank you for all that you're doing, auntie. I appreciate you looking after my mom. I know that it isn't easy, I know that my mom can be difficult, and I know that her past lifestyle makes you really uncomfortable. I know it's hard to watch a loved one go through that, and I appreciate that you've tried to take care of her on your own." Yurei said in a calming voice, and could hear sniffles on the other end. "How about you go take a walk? Maybe stop by a cafe, maybe check out that cat petting cafe that just opened up. Take a break."

"Thank you, Yurei. I think I'll do that. I'm sorry to call you like this. You don't need to deal with this right now." Her aunt said in a shaky voice.

"That's okay, auntie. Go take a break, get some fresh air, and then call me again once you've calmed down, okay? Everything will be okay." Yurei assured.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Her aunt said, and hung up.

"Call your fucking mom and find out why the fuck she moved in with my mom." Yurei snapped at Katsuki. He pulled out his phone, dialed, and put the phone against his ear.

After a few seconds, he spoke, "Mom, call me back." He hung up and called a different number, and pressed his phone against his ear.

"Dad, why is mom staying at my girlfriend's mom's house? What's going on?" Katsuki asked.

There was a pause, and Yurei felt his emotions flux considerably at whatever he heard.

"What the fuck do you mean you're getting divorced?" Katsuki blurted. "I don't give a shit, you're my parents, you're not allowed to date other people. Stop being a fucking moron."

Yurei put her phone in front of her, covering her mouth, and watching Katsuki. Mina stopped untangling her hair to lean in closer.

"That's not how being gay works. You're not gay. Gay people don't get married and have kids. That's not how that works. You're being stupid, dad." Katsuki said, and Mina gasped by Yurei's ear. "No, bring mom home. No. No, you're being stupid."

"Oh my god." Mina whispered in her ear.

Yurei couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Both of Katsuki's parents were gay.

"Oh do not bring that shit up, you are not gay, you married mom and had me, which means you're straight. No." Katsuki argued heatedly. "Gay people only have gay kids, and I'm straight, which means that you're straight. Shut up, that's exactly how that works."

_Oh, honey, no._

"Well then break up with him! Tell him you were being stupid and then go get mom." Katsuki said.

"Do you guys want some mozzarella sticks?" Deku asked as he came over, wielding a platter of five cheese filled stick.

Before Yurei could accept, Katsuki kicked him in a groin and shouted, "FUCK OFF DEKU YOU FUCKING NERD!"

The mozzarella sticks went flying, and Deku fell to the ground, holding his groin.

"I don't fucking care! Go get mom! … no, if you're gay, that means that I'm gay, and I'm not! You're straight!" Katsuki shouted into his phone.

Yurei got up and knelt to the crying Deku, who whimpered quietly while crying, having no idea what happened.

"Katsuki just found out his parents are getting a divorce. I'm sorry about the pain." Yurei whispered to him. All he could do was make tiny, high-pitched noises, but she could sense that he felt really bad for Katsuki. Even in pain, Deku could feel sympathy for others.

"I can make people feel the positive effects of any drug with none of the side effects, or just make them insanely happy with my emotions quirk. Let me know if you want to make use of it. Again, sorry about Katsuki." Yurei apologized.

"I AM NOT GAY! YOU ARE NOT GAY! MOM IS NOT GAY! STOP BEING STUPID!" Katsuki shouted at the top of his lungs, and then angrily hung up. Yurei looked up into his angry eyes, trying desperately not to smile.

"Get the fuck up. We're going to your house." Katsuki told her, breathing hard.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Also, just because your parents are gay, doesn't mean that you are, too. That's not how it works." Yurei said.

"Your mom is bisexual, you're bisexual. It's genetics." Katsuki said.

"I'm pansexual, and no, people's sexual orientations are pretty random. Mina is bisexual but both of her parents are straight. Eijirou's dad is bisexual, but Eijirou is straight." Yurei said, and Katsuki just stared at her, breathing hard.

There was a tense silence, of those dark red eyes boring into her own, trying to make sense of it all.

"We're going to your fucking house. I'm bringing my mom home." Katsuki said decisively.

The next fifteen minutes were tense. He yelled at anyone that tried to talk sense into him. He shoved, kicked, or hit anyone that tried to get close.

"JUST MAKE THE FUCKING CALL!" Katsuki shouted at Yurei, having demanded multiple times that she call a cab to take them to her mom's address.

"Not until you calm down." Yurei said calmly, and Eijirou and Hanta moved between them when Katsuki took a threatening step forward. "Our moms aren't trained to fight. You could hurt them in this state."

"Either make the fucking call or I'll make you MAKE THE FUCKING CALL!" Katsuki shouted and moved forward, but Eijirou used his hardening quirk and pushed him back. "Move the fuck out of my way!"

"No, not until you calm down." Eijirou said.

Yurei had never heard Katsuki yell like this, and it shook her to the core. She needed to be ready and phase if Katsuki charged her. This time, she couldn't afford to not phase.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!" Katsuki yelled, and punched Eijirou in the chest. Eijirou grounded himself, but he moved back a few inches.

The way Katsuki sounded reminded her of the night Ikari attacked her. That raw, angry, broken voice.

"Either chill out or we're calling security on you, dude. I don't want to man, it'll go on your record." Eijirou said, but Katsuki hit him again.

"I'm going outside. I'll make the call to security." Yurei said.

"FUCK YOU!" Katsuki shouted, and lunged at her, but Eijirou caught him, and pushed him back.

Yurei briefly looked into those carnal eyes, wide and animalistic, wanting to tear her apart.

She went outside, and made the call.

5.

April 26th, Thursday, 7:30 PM

Kayama was one of the teachers to come over. She used her quirk to knock Katsuki out.

Yurei sat outside, sitting on the ground a little ways from the main door, watching everyone come and go. They carried Katsuki on a stretcher over to the security building, which had cells that could hold him until he was stable.

Aizawa was the only one that seemed to notice her on the ground; her eyes went downcast when he looked her way. She wasn't exactly in a confident position. Her legs were bent, her arms wrapped around them, and hood up. Her dark green hoodie blended with the trees.

Aizawa came over and crouched in front of her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No." _Not for lack of trying._ "He found out that his parents are gay and getting a divorce. He flipped his shit."

Aizawa's eyebrows rose in silent surprise.

"... that's… unusual." Aizawa commented.

"How long will he be in the cell?" Yurei asked.

"Probably for the night. We'll probably let him out for classes tomorrow. We're going to be doing joined classes with the third years and do some of the activities we'd planned for the field trip.. maybe that'll take his mind off of his parents' situation." Aizawa answered.

"Do you think I should keep dating him?" Yurei asked him.

He paused, glancing at the grassy ground, and contemplated her question. He was quiet for a while, and then spoke thoughtfully, "you should do whatever you feel is best. This probably won't be the last time that he has a tantrum. In fall term, he and Midoria got into a big fight that resulted in multiple days of suspension. They were both injured."

She slowly nodded, still shaken from the way he yelled at her.

So much rage.

Usually when he lashed out it came from a position of sadness; but that time, there was no sadness. Just anger, rage, hurt, and frustration.

6.

April 27th, Friday, 6:00 AM

The next morning, bright and early, the two classes met at the running tracks.

Chill air nipped at her skin. She hadn't had time to get her usual coffee.

She did her best to ignore Katsuki, who stood on the edge of their group. He was guilt ridden, depressed, and sad, but she couldn't bring herself to go near him right then. Not yet, at least.

"Every third year is going to be paired up with a freshman for the next few hours. The juniors have already been told who their partner is, and has been thinking of ways to train with them and impart some wisdom. Spend time with your partner for a few hours, at least, and then you're free to go. You're welcome to use any of the class equipment, and Kan and I will be here to answer questions." All Might said, and Yurei raised her hand.

"Do we have to stay on campus?" Yurei asked.

"Hoping to get some coffee, Kasai?" All Might asked with a smile.

"Yes." Yurei answered tiredly.

"You don't have to stay here, just stay with your partner." All Might answered.

Slowly, the third years started to approach the first years. Some of them were more exuberant than others, excitedly grabbing their partner and talking a mile a minute. As her class started dispersing, Yurei looked around, searching for her partner.

After a minute of standing there, a timid boy approached her, with his hands in his pockets. His hair was longish and scraggly, his body trembling in fear, and she recognized him as Mirio's friend almost instantly.

"Tamaki, right?" Yurei asked. He didn't answer. She sighed. "Mind if we get some coffee? We can chill at the cafe down the street and chat."

He nodded awkwardly.

"Do you want me to ease your anxiety with my quirk, or are you good?" Yurei asked, and he shook his head.

They made their way over to the cafe, with Tamaki staying close as they walked. He avoided eye contact with everyone and kept his head down.

"Do you want anything?" Yurei asked him as they got in line. He shook his head. "Alright."

Once they got her coffee, they sat in a vacant corner away from everyone else. They had two chairs to sit at.

Tamaki got even more nervous.

"Don't stress. It's okay if we don't do anything. I'm pretty tired. A new friend of mine kept me up with a panic attack. I had to talk her down." Yurei said, and took a sip of her coffee.

"... you're a lot like your cousin." Tamaki commented in a low voice. She almost didn't catch it.

"I'm like Mirio? How so?" Yurei asked.

"... you're both very… kind." Tamaki stammered.

"Thanks. I try to be."

"I'm sorry… that… you were chosen as my partner." Tamaki spoke.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

"You're already a great hero… just like Mirio. There's not much I can offer you." Tamaki said.

"That's okay. I don't think it really matters, honestly. I think some of the pairings are great and people will learn a lot, but some of them are just who's left over. I'm guessing we were left over, and I'm glad for the break. This week has been terrible." Yurei said, and yawned into her hand.

"I'm sorry about your dad."

"Thanks."

Yurei returned to her coffee, and pulled out her phone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should have asked. Did you have anything planned for today?" Yurei asked.

"No… I couldn't think of anything." Tamaki said.

"That's okay. Do you mind if I make a call?" Yurei asked. He shrugged indifferently, and pulled out his own phone. She dialed her aunt. "Hey auntie, I'm sorry for calling so early. I meant to call you back last night, but one of my friends was having a bad time, and I needed to help them."

"That's okay, Yu Yu. I'm sorry that such a good girl like you has to end up with a mother like Hoshi." Her aunt replied with venom, and Yurei's heart fell.

"I'm guessing the walk didn't help?" Yurei asked.

"I went home after the walk. I'm sorry, Yurei, I just couldn't stay in that house."

Yurei sighed. "I'm going to visit her tonight. Maybe I can figure out what's going on and talk some sense into her. Please don't give up on her, auntie. She needs you right now."

"There's only so much I can take." Her aunt replied. They talked for a little longer, finalizing plans, and then Yurei hung up.

She took a deep breath, and then called her mom, unsurprised when it went to voicemail.

"Hey mom, I'm planning to stop by the house tonight and check up on you. I'm worried about you…. I'll probably come by at around 5. I'll probably eat before coming over. Love you." Yurei said, and hung up. She gave a heavy sigh and leaned back, sipping her drink.

_Maybe I should take Mirio with me._

"Do you know if Mirio has plans tonight?" Yurei asked Tamaki.

"He has a date tonight." Tamaki said.

"Ah." Yurei replied, and thought about who else she could bring. Eijirou was level headed, and her mom loved him. He was also good with tense situations.

"Is your mom okay?" Tamaki asked.

"No. My dad was the one that got her out of a bad place, and now she's going back. I just… I don't really know how to help her. She keeps screaming at me, and I know that she's in pain, but I am, too."

"I'm sorry." Tamaki said softly.

7.

April 27th, Friday, 9:00 AM

Katsuki let out a lot of pent up frustration in that class.

He was paired up with a fighter. She was strong, durable, quick on her feet, and a perfect match for him. He finally felt challenged in his domain, rather than tricked or played with, which was refreshing.

They fought for about three solid hours. Katsuki was breathing hard, his body sore from the constant strain, and he looked up as Hinata approached him.

"Have you made up with your girlfriend yet?" She asked with a smile. Her short hair was sticking up in all directions, and there were smudges of dirt on her face.

"Blue and I are fine." Katsuki said.

"Yeah, no. I saw the way you two interacted in class. She wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole." Hinata said, and he narrowed his eyes. "How about you get cleaned up, and then we go over to the cafe they went to? They might still be there."

"I came here to train, not socialize." Katsuki stated.

"You're here to train with me. I'm your upperclassman. I'm supposed to teach you things, and one of the things I want to teach you is how to keep your girlfriend from dumping you. I'm guessing your current spat has something to do with you spending the night in a cell?"

"Fuck off." Katsuki told her.

"If you ditch me, I'll tell the teachers, and you'll get marked down points." Hinata threatened.

Katsuki grit his teeth, glaring at her.

He was annoyed as he showered and dressed, mumbling about how annoying Hinata had been. When he got outside, she was dressed in casual clothes and waiting for him.

"You ready?" She asked with a smile. He grunted and started to walk. When they reached the cafe, he was surprised by how empty it was. He immediately found Yurei in the corner of the room, curled up in a cushioned seat with a phone against her ear. Some loser was sitting near her on his own phone.

"Tamaki~ Kasai~!" Hinata yelled in a girly voice, and Yurei jumped, looking over at them with a startled expression.

Yurei gave a weak wave.

Hinata and Katsuki walked over to them, and sat in some of the extra seats around the short table. Katsuki tried to make eye contact with Yurei, but she avoided him.

Whoever she was on the phone with was yelling.

"I'll call you back, mom. Mom, I'll call you back, I need to do something." Yurei said, and after a few seconds, hung up. The screaming hadn't ceased, and he guessed that they hadn't heard her.

"Training hard, I see." Hinata said with a smile.

"We've been chilling out and getting to know each other. Developing friendships can be a good tool for hero work." Yurei said, and Katsuki scoffed. "How did your training go?"

"It went well. Katsuki is a good fighter, so it was fun to challenge his reflexes. Maybe we could do a match between Kasai and Bakugou and you and me?" Hinata suggested with a smile.

"... I'd rather not…." The weird guy said in a quiet, timid voice.

"You seem to be feeling better." Yurei commented, turning to Katsuki. There was an emotion there that he didn't recognize in her eyes, but it startled him.

"... yeah. It was a good workout." Katsuki said.

"Have you talked to your parents since last night?" Yurei asked, and he felt a surge of anger in him at the memory. "I'm sorry, what's your name?" She asked, turning to Hinata.

While Hinata and Yurei talked, he stayed quiet, silently filtering the raw emotions inside him and wondering what to do about them. He needed to get his mom home, but Yurei wasn't going to give up the address until he calmed down. He couldn't calm down until his mom was home and done with this gay crap.

He put his hands in his jacket pockets, and realized that there was a piece of paper. He pulled it out, and realized that it had someone else's handwriting on it.

'_I'm the strongest! If you're not a coward, fight me at 253 Kuro St. at 5 pm. Come alone.'_

A fight sounded nice. He pocketed the note again, wondering when someone had slipped the note into his pocket. _Maybe one of the third years_.

He held back a smirk. Beating the shit out of a third year sounded fun.

8.

April 27th, Friday, 5:00 PM

Eijirou couldn't go with her to her mom's, but Deku volunteered. She made them food before they went over.

The cab ride there was quiet. The car smelled like cigarettes, beer, and body odor.

"There will be yelling. I'm sorry to drag you into this, but thank you for coming." Yurei said.

"It's okay. If this doesn't go well, then we can stop by mom's apartment for cookies. She invited us over." Deku said, and she smiled.

"Your mom sounds nice." Yurei said.

"How are you doing since Ka-chan's yelling last night?" Deku asked.

"It really freaked me out, honestly. I don't know what I'm going to do about it." Yurei said.

"Ka-chan isn't easy to be around." Deku commented.

"Yeah." Yurei nodded, and gave a tired sigh.

9.

April 27th, Friday, 5:00 PM

The address took him to a sketchy part of town. There weren't a lot of houses here, and the ones that were there old and decrepit, falling apart.

There were some warehouses, and rats scurried along the sides of the road. Homeless people glared from the shadows and held their valuables closer.

He looked back down at the note in his hand, and then to the place in front of him. It looked like something used to be here, but was torn down. Rubble had been mostly cleared out, but some remained. The square lot was uneven ground filled with debris.

Katsuki could smell the faint scent of gasoline mixed with beer and urine. He was tempted to just leave, because of how gross this location was. If he used his quirk here, it might go up in flames. Then, something in the middle of the lot lit up.

A sign reading "BAKUGOU!" on a stick was there, and there was a bright red envelope below it.

"Oi, whoever set up this fight, get the fuck out here or I'm leaving." Katsuki shouted. He stood there, waiting, and watched the shadows for any surprise attack.

He really wanted to fight.

"Fine. Waste of my fucking time." Katsuki grumbled, and started to walk away, when someone emerged from the other side of the lot. They were scrawny and short, with a tuft of purple hair. He looked to be Katsuki's age, maybe a little younger, and he definitely didn't recognize him from the third years.

"Who the fuck are you?" Katsuki shouted.

"Th-the guy who's going to b-beat you in a f-fight!"

Katsuki gave him a deadpan look. He looked like a pathetic nerd. He was even shaking, trembling in fear.

"Seriously?" Katsuki asked.

_Maybe his quirk is tricking his enemy into thinking he's weak._ Katsuki wondered.

"Y-you afraid? Fight me, or else I'll tell everyone that y-you lost t-to me in a fight!"

… _a few years ago, I would have eaten this guy for breakfast without a second thought._

Katsuki cracked his neck. He didn't have anything better to do, and this kid was practically begging to have his face beaten in. Katsuki walked forward, onto the broken lot. His feet shifted with the rubble, and he knew that he'd have to be careful not to break the kid's head open on the concrete.

The kid started walking towards him. There was a sweeped area in the middle, a perfect circle, and the sign with his name on it in the center. Katsuki went to put his full weight on the flat surface, his other foot slipping on the damp concrete, when suddenly the floor gave way.

It was a blanket.

He smelled a lot of gasoline.

He cursed as he fell, tumbling down at least twenty feet, and was partially submerged by rank liquid. It smelled like gasoline and raw sewage.

Katsuki immediately stood up, and vomited from the terrible smell. He gagged, and tried to put a dry part of his shirt over his nose.

"GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Katsuki screamed at the top of his lungs. There was barely any light from above. "FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"

The scrawny loser appeared by the top, and waved at him.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Katsuki screamed.

"I filled this well with gasoline and C4. One spark and you go up in flames. Who's the man now, Bakugou? Who's the winner now!?"

"I AM, YOU FUCKING LOSER!"

"I don't think so. Have fun dying." He said, and started to cover up the hole with the blanket.

Katsuki looked around for any kind of rope, something to climb up with, but the walls were smooth concrete.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE AND I'LL ONLY BEAT YOUR FACE IN! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING, ASSHOLE!"

He didn't, though. Despite his yelling, he was left in near complete darkness, in things he didn't want to know about. He got his phone out, and tried to turn it on, but it was dead.

"Shit." He muttered. _Maybe once it dries out, I can try it again._

The water went up to his knees, and there was disgusting sludge at the bottom.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Katsuki screamed.

10.

April 27th, Friday, 6:00 PM

They got through the initial yelling, so that was good.

Yurei ended up in the kitchen, eating snacks, and contemplating what to do. A man twice her age, wearing a robe, walked into the kitchen, winked at her, and opened the fridge. Once he got a soda, he turned, winked at her again, and looked at Deku.

"How old are you?" He asked Deku.

"Eighteen." Deku answered.

"That's pretty young... a good age to start. You're a lucky kid."

"We're not part of the crew." Yurei said. Deku's face turned bright red.

"Oh, are you Hoshi's daughter? Yeah, I saw you in the family photos. You were a cute kid. My name is Rick." Rick introduced.

"Leave my kitchen or you'll be known as dickless Rick." Yurei said in a low, dangerous tone. Without another word, he turned and left.

"... I'm sorry, Yurei." Deku said.

"I can't deal with my mom yelling and she won't listen to me. I don't know why she's doing this. I don't understand." Yurei said.

"... maybe we can go to my mom's. She might have some advice." Deku said. Someone else walked into the kitchen, but this time, it was Katsuki's mom, Mitsuki.

"Katsuki freaked out last night. He wants you to go home." Yurei said.

Her red eyes moved to Yurei, narrowing them like Katsuki does sometimes, but there was a coldness there.

"Why do you like my good for nothing son?" She asked in a cold, lethal voice.

"He's a good person." Yurei said.

"Really? A good person? Didn't he throw you on a jellyfish?"

"He got stung by it, too." Yurei said.

"I can see right through you. You're trying to get pregnant so that you don't have to work. Transfer to a new college, find a hero with a bright future, and then trap them. Guilt them into a loveless marriage and tie them down with a kid so that you have a comfortable life."

"Are you talking about me or you?" Yurei asked, and Mitsuki narrowed her eyes, stepping closer.

She was pissed.

"You. I know what young, pretty girls like you are like. My son is stupid enough to fall for your act, but I'm not."

"Pretty harsh accusations coming from someone who lets their brother rape children in their spare time." Yurei countered.

Her eyes briefly bulged, widening in rage, and then she regained her composure.

"Katsuki obviously didn't tell you the full story." Mitsuki said.

"He told me enough, and since his uncle isn't in jail, that means you're a piece of shit that covered for him." Yurei said, and wasn't surprised when she was slapped in the face. The hit stung, but wasn't too bad.

"Get out!" Mitsuki shouted.

"You're trying to kick me out of my own house?" Yurei asked.

"You don't live here anymore. Your place here died when your dad did. Your mother and I are together and you made it clear that you want no part in it."

_I should have given Katsuki the address._

"Get the fuck out or I will drag you out by that dumb hair." Mitsuki said, anger flourishing in her and hands shaking, getting ready to grab her. Yurei had no doubt that she would follow through on her threat.

_That explains a few things about Katsuki_.

"I'll be back." Yurei said, and walked with Deku close behind. Once they were outside, Yurei called Katsuki, but it went straight to voicemail. She was grateful for the cool air that met her hot cheeks, and space growing between her and Mitsuki.

"Hey, I just talked to our moms. Your mom is… really something. Next time I come here, I want you with me. Let me know when you want to go. I'm sorry about what you're going through. Please let me help… call me back." Yurei said, and paused before hanging up.

She really missed him. She missed their banter and hand holding.

"What you said earlier… about Ka-chan's uncle…." Deku spoke.

"I never told you, but that Asahi guy molested him pretty bad. Pretty sure it has something to do with candy." Yurei said. Deku took a step back, eyes wide in alarm. "I think that's why he hates you. Because you're nice to Asahi."

"I didn't… he was always so nice…." Deku muttered.

"That's how it goes. Most people are raped by family members or friends, not strangers." Yurei said.

"Are you sure?" Deku asked.

"Pretty sure. I had to piece it together, since Katsuki doesn't like to talk about it, but… he told his parents and they didn't do shit. They blamed it on Katsuki and called him a pervert. He's probably going to be pissed when I tell him that I told his mom that I know... He might be more pissed if he learns that I sent in a tip to the police." Yurei rambled, and let out a tired sigh as she looked up at the sky.

"... I had no idea… that explains a lot of things…." Deku said softly.

"Don't tell him you know. I'm hoping that, in time, I can convince him to press charges. He's nowhere close to that right now." Yurei said.

"Does Katsuki know that you're doing that? Trying to get him to that stable place to turn his uncle in?"

"No. He knows that I'm getting him stable, but not that I think he should come forward. Coming forward needs to be his idea. His prerogative." Yurei said, and let out another tired sigh.

"You're a really good person. I'm really glad that someone like you is trying to help him." Deku said.

"Thank you again for coming with me. I know that all of this is really messed up and not easy to be around." Yurei said.

"Do you still want to do cookies?" Deku asked lamely.

"I would love to do cookies."

11.

April 27th, Friday, 6:00 PM

Katsuki's throat hurt from all the screaming.

No one was coming.

No one knew he was here.

No one knew to even start looking for him.

He was light-headed from the putrid smells, but he refused to pass out in a place like this. He refused to die in a literal shit hole. There was a very, very small amount of light that filtered in from the cloth ceiling.

He was tempted to just fly out, risk the explosion, but he'd found what he guessed was the C4 attached to the wall. If this guy was crazy enough to leave him down here, he could be crazy enough to leave real explosives. He moved around, kicking the muddy ground, and his foot came across what felt like a large rock or piece of concrete rubble. Something about the size of his foot.

He reached down, latching onto the textured and slimy surface, and gripped it. Then, he started to smash part of the wall.

12.

April 27th, Friday, 7:00 PM

Deku's mother was so sweet and kind. Yurei felt so weird being around someone so innocent, after her hectic few weeks.

She gave them cookies and made them hot chocolate, and listened to her troubles about her mom. They sat at the round dining room table together, with the plate of cookies in the middle.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie." Deku's mom said.

"It is what it is." Yurei said, and checked her phone again. Katsuki hadn't messaged her in a while.

"Are you waiting for a call? You've been checking your phone a lot." Deku asked.

"Katsuki hasn't messaged me in a while. I'm worried about him. He's usually pretty good at keeping his phone charged." Yurei said.

"Is that the Bakugou boy?" Deku's mother asked, and Yurei nodded. "Does he usually text you a lot?"

"Yeah. He gets antsy when we're apart for more than a few hours. Do you know of anyone still at the dorms right now that could check on him?" Yurei asked Deku.

"Everyone is out for their internships." Deku said, and she sighed. "Maybe Katsuki went to his? Isn't he set up through Suzuki?"

"He said he wasn't going back. Because of the villain attack, they let him out of the contract he signed." Yurei said anxiously. They hadn't talked since that morning, and he was still upset.

_What if he does something stupid? What if he's waiting for me to come back?_

_The League of Villains have targeted him in the past._

"I'm sure he's fine. It is Ka-chan, after all." Deku said.

"Do you mind if we head back? I just want to make sure that he's okay." Yurei requested.

"Sure. There's a bus stop close by that will take us straight there." Deku said.

13.

April 27th, Friday, 7:30 PM

Two footholds and two hand holds made. The cement pieces he used were reduced to pebbles.

Thunder rolled overhead. He started to hear a soft patter of rain on the tarp above.

_If the walls get slick, I won't be able to climb._

He was just short of able to reach the top when he tried leaping from the bottom of the well. The walls were wide enough that he couldn't get a grip without handholds.

Katsuki put his feet in the foot holds, which gave him an extra few feet, and then reached up for the hand holds. He was suddenly grateful for the bouldering class his mom signed him up for as a kid. Those classes were just a way to keep him busy, since he annoyed the hell out of her as a kid, but he learned some valuable techniques from that class.

Like how to launch himself all the way to the top of the boulder with two tiny handholds.

His fingertips hurt from the rough texture. He could feel his right one shift slightly. It wasn't sturdy.

He went low, preparing his body to launch, remembering his technique as a kid. As he extended his legs, launching himself into the air, the concrete gave out, and he only got about halfway up before tumbling back to the ground. He managed to land on his feet.

The rain started to get hard, and when he went back to the hand holds, could feel the slick water already making work.

_If enough water gets in here, I can float out. It'll also dilute the gasoline._

Something snapped above him, and he put his arms up, just before the tarp fell on him. The water fell around him, filling up the room. He moved the tarp to the side and looked up, peering up into the dark sky as rain fell on his face.

_Is there a drain in here?_ He wondered, and looked around. It was too dark to see, so he brought his hand to the water's surface against the wall, and started feeling around for one. After a few minutes, he found one, and used the tarp to clog it up.

14.

April 27th, Friday, 7:30 PM

"You're sure that you didn't see him come back?" Yurei asked the security officer.

"People have been going, but not a lot coming back. I would have noticed it if he came back. A lot of students are either out on internships or staying in for the weekend. Most students have canceled their internships and have started staying on campus more." One of the officers, Toren, explained.

"Maybe Ka-chan went for a walk?" Deku guessed.

"... maybe." Yurei sighed, and pulled out her phone. Drops of water started to accumulate on her phone, and thunder rolled above them. "I'm going to call his dad. Maybe he went there to talk things out."

Deku frowned as she dialed the number, and she tried to take some deep breaths as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Masaru, Katsuki's dad, spoke.

"Hey, Mr. Bakugou, this is Yurei, Katsuki's friend. I was wondering if you've seen Katsuki today?" Yurei asked.

"Not today, no. We haven't talked since last night on the phone." Masaru replied.

"Do you know where he might be? He's probably fine, but his phone is off, he's not on campus, and I'm a little worried about him." Yurei asked.

"Sometimes Katsuki goes on walks when he's upset. I'm sure he's just stomping around a park somewhere growling at children." Masaru said.

"That's probably the case…. He usually keeps his phone on, though. Can you let me know if you hear from him?" Yurei requested.

"Sure thing. Let me know when you find him." Masaru said.

"Okay, goodnight." Yurei said, and looked back at Deku. "No luck. You can head back in, if you want, while I go look for him. If he is walking around he won't be in a good mood."

"I'll go with you. Ka-chan is an old friend, and I want to make sure he's okay." Deku said.

"If you give us your number, we can text you if we see him." Toren suggested, and she quickly agreed.


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's Note:** Hey y'all! Sorry for not updating sooner, life got hard. Hope you like the new chapter! Thank you everyone for the faves, follows, and reviews! :)

Stay safe! Please wear masks, wash your hands, and if you're in the US, a friendly remember that Covid is not gone. Please be safe, vote this November, and good vibes to everyone in these hard times~!

* * *

**Chapter 19**

_Finding Katsuki_

April 27th, Friday, 10:00 PM

The rain had stopped.

They still hadn't found him. Toren called them back to the school, saying that Aizawa wanted to talk to them. As Deku and Yurei walked back, she shivered and trembled. Her light jacket was soaked, and although the air wasn't strictly cold, the frequent breezes chilled her to the core. She kept thinking about Katsuki lying on the ground somewhere, bleeding out, dying and needing her.

When they got back to the campus, the guards nodded to her, and Aizawa looked them up and down.

"You should get inside. I made a call to local law enforcement to keep an eye out for him. I gave them a description and asked them to call me when they find him." Aizawa said.

"I want to get a dry jacket and then go out again. If he's hurt, I'll be able to find him easier than most." Yurei said.

"He's probably fine. He goes out on walks by himself all the time." Toren said.

"And when I find him, I'll kick his ass for making me worry needlessly. I know there's a curfew, but I want to keep looking for him." Yurei said, looking back at Aizawa.

"I want to keep looking, too." Deku added.

Aizawa seemed to consider them for a moment. Yurei shivered as another powerful breeze went by.

"Midoria, go to bed. Yurei, get your jacket and we'll go look a little longer for him." Aizawa said.

"Thank you." Yurei thanked, and hurried onto campus, gliding over to the dorms to get a thicker jacket.

1.

April 27th, Friday, 10:00 PM

"Shit." Katsuki cursed softly. The water went up to his thighs, now, and the walls were slick from the light rain. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

His calls gained no reply.

The smell was slightly diluted, at least, but the smell of gasoline was still strong. There wasn't enough water to risk using his quirk to get out.

A shiver shook his body, and he looked back to the wall. He pulled his phone out again, to check if it was working, and cursed when it wouldn't turn on. He put it back in his pocket, and tried climbing again.

Since the water would have washed off the gasoline on the walls, he had an idea.

1.

April 27th, Friday, 11:00 PM

About an hour later, Aizawa got a call from the police station.

Someone came in claiming that they saw someone matching Katsuki's description fall into a river.

They hurried over to the police station, which was a skeleton crew that night, and went over to one of the officer's desks. A hazardly man, looking to be in his late thirties, sat near him. He reeked of beer, had a scraggly beard, and clothes were covered in stains. The jacket had an old logo on it, and looked like a factory worker's jacket.

"Aizawa, Kasai," The officer greeted. "I sent out a call to search the river for the boy."

"You saw Bakugou jump into the river?" Aizawa asked him.

"Yeah. He was a guy, about average height, with blond hair. He looked pretty wasted, yelling about how he was a 'winner', everyone else was dumb, and then stumbled over the edge into the water." The guy said.

"What was he wearing?" Yurei asked.

"A red shirt, I think? I dunno. I just heard him yelling and looked over just as he was falling in." The guy said.

"Did anyone pay you to say that?" Yurei asked, and felt nervousness from him. He didn't show it, though.

"Nope. Just worried about the kid. He looked pretty young, like he was in high school or college or something." He said.

"So why not report it immediately? You said this happened a few hours ago, when it was raining." The officer asked.

"I had shit to do." He shrugged.

"What's your name?" Aizawa asked him.

"Kurema." He answered.

"Kurema… why do I have the feeling that you're lying right now?" Aizawa asked.

"I'm not." Kurema replied.

"The boy you're describing sounds a lot like Katsuki Bakugou, a student at the school I work at, UA University. If it turns out that you're lying and he's harmed or worse, you will be in a lot of trouble." Aizawa said, and Kurema's eyes widened.

The officer's phone rang, and he went to pick it up. "You did? Where?"

Aizawa and Yurei watched him, and patiently waited for him to relay the news.

"They found a red hoodie that could belong to him along the bank." The officer said.

"See? Not lying." Kurema said.

Kurema was suddenly wrapped up in Aizawa's strips of cloth, binding him, and Aizawa leaned in closer.

"Okay, okay! Some guy said that he had trouble with the police, but he saw the kid fall in, and he wanted me to report it." Kurema said.

Aizawa asked follow up questions and pressed him further, making sure he was getting accurate information, before letting him go.

"Let us know if they find anything else." Aizawa requested, and as he walked out, Yurei followed him close behind.

"What's the plan?" Yurei asked.

"We go to the area he said that he saw him, and ask if anyone's seen Bakugou. When someone recognizes him, or you sense a strong reaction from someone, we'll question them for more answers. I'm also going to call some friends and start an official search." Aizawa said.

2.

April 27th, Friday, 11:00 PM

His hands were bloody and raw.

He wasn't going to give up.

He was about halfway up the stupid wall, holding on tight, and focusing on making the new hand hold. Holding back his shivers was difficult, his hands were bloody and raw, and one wrong move could send him straight to the afterlife.

As he reached up, his palm close to the wall, he set off very tiny explosions, trying to create a new hold for him.

His foot started to slip.

He cursed as he fell to the ground, water splashing as his legs submerged, and he yelled out in frustration.

With a huff of determination, he took his hoodie off, then his shirt, and put the hoodie back on. He started tearing his shirt into strips and wrapping them around his left hand and fingertips of his right one.

3.

April 28th, Saturday, 12:30 AM

Over an hour had gone by of questioning people, and so far, no leads.

They went to a bar that was open late. There weren't many people inside. Most of the people were bikers in the front, who smoke, drank, and cursed a lot.

"Have you seen this man?" Aizawa asked, showing his phone with a picture of Katsuki's face. All of them were pretty big guys, sporting tattoos and sleeveless jackets.

"What is he, your boyfriend or something?" One of the bigger ones, over six feet tall and with a scraggly beard, asked. He had tattoos along his arms, piercings along his eyebrows, and a scar along his cheek.

"He's a student at the school I work at. He's missing." Aizawa said.

"He's missing, huh? Have you tried your mom's tits?" The biker asked, and made a face at him.

Yurei stepped forward, and they all eyed her, wanting to pounce.

"Is that little kid your boyfriend? I can show you what a real man is like." One of them, a bit on the younger side of the group, said as he approached her.

"That is my boyfriend." Yurei said, and reached up to his face, grabbing him, and made him extremely melancholy. He fell to his knees, his arms going weak, and the other guys stepped back. "Take another look at the fucking picture."

They cursed, eyeing her as they looked at Aizawa's phone again. One by one, they shook their heads.

"Some loser said that he was drinking and yelling in this area. You sure he didn't come by and try to pick a fight with you?" Yurei asked.

"Not tonight. A few years ago, I remember that kid coming by here. Little punk tried to pick a fight. We put him in his place, and he never came back." The bigger guy said, and looked between Yurei and the guy she was holding. Yurei deactivated her quirk and shoved him back, making him fall over.

"Let's check inside. Maybe the bartender saw him." Yurei suggested, and Aizawa nodded, eyeing the bikers.

"Crazy bitch." One of them muttered, and others made some lewd comments.

As they went into the bar, Yurei let out a tired sigh. There were a few people at a table, a larger group laughing boisterously in the back, and then a few people spread out at the bar. The bartender, sporting a nose ring and multiple earrings along the cartilage of his ear, turned to them.

"We're looking for someone." Aizawa said, and walked over to the bar. He showed him the photo.

"I don't think so." The bartender replied.

"Do you mind if we ask around and see if anyone else has seen him?" Aizawa asked.

"Go for it. How long has he been missing? Is it serious?" The bartender asked.

"He's a student. Someone claimed to see him drinking in this area and fall into the river. We're trying to confirm the story and see if maybe he's stumbling around this area." Aizawa explained.

As they talked, Yurei looked around, and saw someone close to her age at the bar. Their hair was wild, styled up with blue strips, and they had a lot of piercings in their ears.

Yurei walked up to them and pulled out her phone, flashing a smile at them.

"Hey, I'm looking for a friend of mine. Could you look at a picture and tell me if you've seen him today?" Yurei asked.

"Sure." He replied, turning to give her more attention. His posture went a little straighter, his head a little taller, and he looked to her phone as she held it up to him. "That's Bakugou, right?"

"Yeah. Have you seen him tonight?" Yurei asked, and he shook his head.

"No, but I used to go to school with him. He used to beat the shit out of me after school. Is he in trouble, or something?"

"Some guy said he saw him get wasted and fall into the river. His phone is off and I haven't seen him since noon. I'm worried about him." Yurei said.

"He's a strong dude. I wouldn't be surprised if he swam back to shore." He comforted.

"Look, I know that he's a piece of shit, and you probably have good reason to hate him, but I just lost my dad this week, and I don't want to lose anyone else. If I leave my number can you call me if you see him?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah, totally." He said.

She pulled out a business card from her pocket, and handed it to him. Her dad had helped her design it before she started college, and paid to get it printed. She grabbed a pile of them before leaving her room.

"Thank you. Have a nice night." Yurei said, and patted him on the shoulder as she went over to the loud group in the back.

After questioning everyone in the bar, Aizawa and Yurei left, ignoring the drunken catcalls of the bikers.

"There was a guy in there that went to school with Bakugou. They're not on good terms, but he said that he'd call if he sees him." Yurei said.

"What are you going to do when all of these guys start calling you two days from now to ask you out?" Aizawa asked.

"Hand the phone over to Katsuki and let him scream at them until they hang up." Yurei answered, and he chuckled. "We've already checked every bar in the area. We've talked to everyone we can find. What else can we do?"

"We can check the alleys by the river to see if he managed to get back to shore, and maybe pass out trying to get to safety. I'm still not convinced that he fell into the river at all." Aizawa said, and let out a tired sigh.

"Thank you for searching with me." Yurei said.

"I want to find him, too. I can keep searching if you want to go back to campus." Aizawa offered.

"No, I'm good. We'll check the alleys and hope that someone calls with some news." Yurei said.

3.

April 28th, Saturday, 1:30 AM

Another hour went by, with no luck.

It was starting to rain again.

The neighborhoods they walked around were poor and unkept. Homeless people hid in places, trying to sleep. Most areas smelled like beer and urine, and occasionally, they heard the scurrying of rats in the shadows.

Her phone started to ring, and she answered it, realizing it was Eijirou.

"Yurei, have you found Katsuki?" Eijirou asked.

"No, I'm with Aizawa searching for him. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"You said you're with Aizawa? Our teacher?" Eijirou asked.

"Yeah. Some guy said that he saw Katsuki jump into a river, so we've been asking around at all the bars in the area. We think the guy is full of shit, but we don't have anywhere else to look yet." Yurei said.

"... I know of a place he might be, but… it's not something I'd want to tell a teacher." Eijirou said hesitantly.

"Aizawa can be discreet. We just want to make sure he's okay." Yurei said.

"But the school has a strict policy against it. He could get expelled." Eijirou said.

"Then take me there and Aizawa will keep looking here." Yurei said, and Aizawa gave her a questioning look.

"When was the last time you heard from him?" Eijirou asked.

"I haven't seen him since noon. He left campus at three." Yurei said.

"Let me talk to him." Aizawa said, and took the phone. "Kirishima, do you know where Bakugou is? … you can get into a lot of trouble, too, if you hold back information."

They talked for a little while, with Aizawa pressuring Eijirou to give up the information. In the end, it sounded like Aizawa caved.

He handed it back to Yurei.

"Be safe, and call me if you need back up." Aizawa said. She had the feeling that he only pretended to try and get the location from Eijirou. He had to put up pretenses of being a responsible teacher.

"Where do you want to meet?" Yurei asked.

4.

April 28th, Saturday, 1:30 AM

Katsuki took a break from climbing.

He was so fucking close.

His body wouldn't stop shaking, and standing in thigh high cold water wasn't helping. His hands were bleeding and in serious pain.

5.

April 28th, Saturday, 1:45 AM

Yurei shouldn't have been surprised as they stood outside the steel door, and Eijirou gave the password to get in.

As the door slid open, she eyed the guard, who was three times her size with scars across his body. Warm air came from inside, the scent of cigar smoke wafted over them, and they could hear the cheers and yells from inside.

She let Eijirou lead. They walked down a dimly lit hallway, and the heavy door shut behind them with a heavy boom.

As they walked, the cheering and yelling got louder, and they came into a room filled with people, mostly men. Hundreds of people were drinking, screaming, and waving their fists at the people in the cage. Two men, muscled giants, were in a fist fight.

Blood coated the ground.

They looked around, searching for Katsuki's tuft of blond hair, and walked around the perimeter. Eijirou hit her arm, getting her attention, and pointed to a man standing by the cage door. "He's in charge."

The pair started walking towards him, and when they got close, a man with six arms and neon green hair blocked their path.

"We're looking for Explosion King. Has he fought tonight?" Eijirou yelled over the crowd.

"No. You planning to fight?"

"No, we're just trying to find Explosion King. He's missing." Eijirou answered.

"Haven't seen him all night. If you're not going to fight, get lost." Six arms said, and nodded to the exit.

"Are you sure you haven't seen him?" Yurei asked, stepping up.

"I said I haven't." Six arms said with a glare. Eijirou pulled her back.

"He's not here, let's leave." Eijirou said.

"He could be lying. Katsuki could have gotten beaten pretty bad, and they don't want to be responsible." Yurei said.

"If Katsuki was really injured, they'd dump him on a street somewhere and call an ambulance for him. Katsuki makes them a lot of money, and they're not going to let him die. Let's go." Eijirou said, and Yurei's phone started to vibrate in her pocket.

She sent another look at six arms, who glared aggressively at her, and followed Eijirou back towards the exit. She checked her phone. One of the assholes she gave her number to was trying to hook up.

They paused by the entrance, looking around for him.

"Someone could have grabbed him here." Yurei said, and looked at the cameras in the corners.

"They're not going to let us look at those, and don't even think of snooping. They have a lot of dangerous quirks and they're private about some things." Eijirou said.

_This explains why he's so good at fighting._

"What happened to your face, by the way?" Eijirou asked.

"Huh?"

"There are scratches on your face." Eijirou said.

"Katsuki's mom slapped me. She has long nails." Yurei answered.

"His mom hit you?"

"It's not the worst part of my night." Yurei sighed, still trying to locate that idiot. "Is there a place where they put drunks that pass out?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah, on the street. Katsuki never drinks at these, though. He's always sober. The only time he drinks is at parties with his friends." Eijirou said.

_I thought it was weird that he'd walk around drinking alone, too._

"Let's walk around the block and see if anyone's seen him." Yurei said as she nodded to the exit.

Once they got outside, the cool air feeling nice on her face, she called Aizawa.

"He's not here, but we're going to look around the area. It's pretty active so maybe someone saw something." Yurei said.

"Stay safe and close to Kirishima." Aizawa reminded her.

"I will. Talk to you later." Yurei said, and hung up.

As they walked around, she showed the picture of Katsuki's face to people. They barely even looked, waving them off, but then when Eijirou mentioned his fighting name, they'd be extremely interested.

They walked around for close to an hour, asking people if they'd seen him that night or any suspicious activity, when she finally got a lead.

6.

April 28th, Saturday, 2:30 AM

Katsuki staggered down the street.

Hungry. Tired.

Imagining ripping that little twerp to shreds.

His hands were bloody at his sides, dripping blood as he walked. His entire body ached, he occasionally shivered from the cool night air and still wet pants, and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

He smelled like sewage and gasoline. Even the homeless freaks made a disgusted face at him.

Eventually, he heard music from somewhere, and followed the sound. He came across a bar, where dozens of bikers hollered, smoked, and drank together. Katsuki vaguely recognized them, having had a negative interaction with them on the past, but nonetheless walked towards them.

They all looked up from whatever they were doing, and when he got closer, they pinched their noses in disgust.

"Holy shit, you smell like shit." One of them said.

"Hey, you're that Bakugou guy, aren't you?"

Katsuki ignored them as he went to the door, and walked inside, going straight to the bartender. "I need to use a phone."

"Your teacher and girlfriend came by here earlier, I'll call them. Wait outside." The bartender said, and pinched his nose, too.

Katsuki sent him a glare, but was too tired to argue. He went outside, sat down in an unoccupied seat furthest away from the bikers, and waited.

6.

April 28th, Saturday, 2:45 AM

Aizawa got to him before she did.

When she got the call, she was beyond relieved that Katsuki was alright. As soon as the knowledge that he was okay set in, though, that turned to anger.

As soon as she saw him, though… that anger left. He looked terrible. She'd never seen him look so bad, or smell so bad.

He was seated in a chair, looking asleep, covered in some kind of slimy brown goop, and his hands were bloody and raw. She didn't expect him to look so bad.

"What the hell happened?" Yurei asked Aizawa, who was keeping his distance as he talked on the phone to someone. When he finished the call, he turned to her.

"I don't know yet, but an ambulance is on its way. I got a call from the bartender just before you called me. Apparently, the bartender kept the bar open a little later than usual, on the off chance that Bakugou would come by." Aizawa said, and she nodded.

"I'm going to go thank him. I'll be right back." Yurei said, and eyed Katsuki as she went inside. She went to the bartender, thanking him for staying open late and contacting her teacher, and then also went to the blue-streaked guy, too. She gave him a hug, thanking him for the call, and then thanked the bartender again on her way out.

When she got outside, she went over to Eijirou and gave him a hug. She was grateful to find Katsuki alive.

7.

April 28th, Saturday, 1:00 PM

She didn't get much sleep that night.

She kept having nightmares. When she did get to sleep, Christine called her, waking her up with another panic attack.

Yurei texted Aizawa, asking if he wanted to go to the hospital with her to check on Katsuki, but apparently he was already there, getting information with police.

They seemed to be wrapping up when she arrived. A detective was giving a business card to Katsuki, telling him to call him if he remembered anything else. Aizawa was thanking him for his time.

The detective looked up upon Yurei's arrival, and she recognized him. He was that guy that got her the coffee the other day.

"Kasai, it's good to see you again. How are you doing today?"

"Tired. You?" Yurei asked.

"Busy, but otherwise good. From what Aizawa told me, you two did a good job looking for Bakugou last night. It could have been a lot worse if you hadn't been looking for him."

"Oi, they didn't do shit. I got out on my own." Katsuki grumbled irritably.

"If that bar hadn't been open, you wouldn't have been able to call for help. You could have passed out and died in the street." The detective pointed out.

"I'm just glad you're safe." Yurei told Katsuki, who scoffed and looked away.

"Did you come here alone, Kasai?" Aizawa asked.

"Yeah." She answered.

That wasn't the answer he wanted.

"Remember to bring a buddy next time. I might have campus security stop you from leaving campus unless you have someone with you." Aizawa said.

"It was an honest mistake. I just wanted to see how Bakugou was doing." Yurei said.

"You should listen to your teacher, Kasai. Things are dangerous nowadays. There have been a lot more attacks recently, and heroes especially have been targeted. You should be careful." The detective said.

"I know, I know, I'm just busy." Yurei said, and sighed as her phone started to vibrate. When she pulled it out, "Mermaid Heel" flashed on the screen. "I have to take this, excuse me."

She went back out into the hallway, and answered the call.

"Kasai speaking."

"Hey, Kasai, this is Amber from Mermaid Heel. Things have been pretty shaky here since the attack, but we've got the building cleaned up and we're to resume some of our activities next weekend. I was hoping that you could come by today and tomorrow to talk stuff out and help help us prepare?" Amber asked.

"... I don't know about today. My friend is in the hospital and I didn't get much sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to be doing homework and taking care of family." Yurei answered.

"That's okay. Will you be able to come next weekend?"

"Yeah."

"Great! Thank you so much. See you then."

Yurei hung up and yawned into her hand. Her phone rang again. Momentum.

"Yello?" Yurei spoke tiredly.

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but are you busy?" Momentum asked.

"What do you need?" Yurei asked.

"Kagura is in the hospital. One of her classmates attacked her."

"Which one?"

"Kikaido General."

"I'm already there. I'm on the second floor with Bakugou."

"Can I meet you? What room?"

"208."

Yurei let out another sigh as she leaned against the wall, and hung up. She was so tired. She should have gotten a coffee on her way here. After talking with Katsuki for a bit, she'd go get a coffee, and maybe a bagel.

Momentum soon arrived, panicked and terrified. His hair was frayed, his clothes disheveled, and his movements jerky.

"Calm down. Everything is going to be okay." Yurei said calmly, and that seemed to help. His stress lessened, his breathing calmed, and he paused, relaxing slightly.

Then, a figure hurried past and entered Katsuki's room. She barely recognized them as Katsuki's father.

Some guy nervously lingered outside with Yurei and Momentum.

"How bad are Kagura's injuries?" Yurei asked.

"A fractured arm and lots of lacerations. She'll be okay, but it was pretty traumatizing. She's been crying a lot." Momentum said.

Yelling came from Katsuki's room.

"Give me a minute." Yurei said, and phased through the door. Aizawa was barely keeping Katsuki from jumping out of the bed and attacking his dad.

Yurei quickly used her quirk on him, calming him down, and his angry eyes shifted to her.

"Release your quirk." Katsuki asked.

"No." Yurei replied.

"What happened to your face?" Katsuki's dad asked.

"It doesn't matter, just don't aggravate Katsuki. He's already been through a lot." Yurei said, and slipped back outside to Momentum.

8.

April 28th, Saturday, 2:30 PM

Katsuki was frustrated at not being able to feel things right.

Close to an hour had passed since Yurei used her quirk on him, and he was bored. His dad had left. Detective left. The only person who remained was Aizawa, who kept taking calls. Katsuki didn't even have a phone to busy himself with.

When the door opened, he looked up, and saw Yurei enter. She looked tired, holding a coffee cup in her hand and bagel in her mouth. There were heavy lines beneath her eyes and four faint scratch marks on her cheek.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Katsuki asked.

"Your mom and I exchanged some words last night." Yurei said.

"Bakugou's mom attacked you?" Aizawa asked.

"It's complicated. I was hoping to bring Katsuki next time I talked to her." Yurei said, looking at Katsuki.

Then, she released her quirk.

Pain surged through his chest, and he looked away, trying to push that pain down. Angry thoughts entered his mind, screaming at him, and he struggled to make sense of the sudden change.

"Want me to use my quirk on you again? To ease you off?" Yurei asked, and he nodded.

She came over, putting her hand on his, and instantly, he started to feel better. Instead of an abrupt change, she eased him slowly to a calmer place.

Once he felt more stable, he gave her a nod, and she went over to sit in a vacant seat by Aizawa.

"So, what happened last night?" Yurei asked.

"Some asshole said that he wanted to fight, and then he chickened out." Katsuki said.

"And you were so distraught that you jumped into a sewer? You still stink." Yurei asked, and Katsuki narrowed his eyes at her.

"No, idiot. The asshole had set up kind of trap. He filled a hole with gasoline so that I couldn't fly out without blowing myself up." Katsuki said.

"Who was he?" Yureia asked.

"I don't know. I didn't get a name."

"Did you see what he looked like?"

"We brought in a sketch artist. They're going to make copies, but…" Aizawa trailed off.

"It was dark, okay? I didn't see his stupid face." Katsuki defended.

"So what did he do to lure you out there?" Yurei asked.

"What do you mean?" Katsuki asked.

"Did you only go out to the middle of nowhere to fight someone you had never met?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah." Katsuki replied.

She looked away, and distracted herself with a sip of coffee.

"What?" Katsuki asked.

"It's against school policy to fight outside of scheduled class activities." Aizawa said.

"We didn't actually fight. That loser ran. School policy is against fighting, not planning them and not doing them." Katsuki told him, knowing the school policy well. He also knew the local law codes regarding fights and how to get around them.

"And what if the League of Villains had been the ones to lead you out there, huh?" Yurei asked, and her eyes began to water. "Or one of their groupies? Or anyone with a grudge against you? You could have been killed, you fucking moron."

"... I'm going to get some food. When I get back, I'd like to talk to you, Kasai." Aizawa said, and quickly left.

When the door closed, there was an awkward silence. The quirk released again, letting him feel his shitty feelings, but this time he had more control. Seeing her cry sent a pang of sadness in him, and he just wanted her to stop.

"I didn't ask you to go looking for me last night. I would have been fine." Katsuki spat.

"Eijirou took me to that fighting place you go to. It explained some things." Yurei said, and sniffled as the tears fell.

"I'm going to fucking kill him." Katsuki grit, and wished that his hands weren't in casts.

"Aizawa doesn't know. He was smart enough to just take me." Yurei said.

"Still. He shouldn't have fucking taken you there."

"You shouldn't have been so stupid and almost get yourself killed!" Yurei shouted at him.

He paused, not used to her yelling like that. Tears freely fell down her face, and it killed him to see her this way. To see her face so red, her cheeks so wet, and her lips tremble. To know that he caused that.

"You ran off at the training!" Katsuki reminded her.

"So you did this to get back at me?"

"No! I just wanted to fight someone!"

"Then why not go to the fighting ring? Why fight some random person you've never met, on your own, without telling anyone where you were going?"

"Because I don't have to fucking tell you where I am at all times!"

"You could have told Eijirou! Denki! Literally anyone!"

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you, too!"

9.

April 28th, Saturday, 2:50 PM

Yurei cursed as she left the hospital room, wiping her eyes with her sleeves.

"Are you okay?" Momentum asked, and she looked up, realizing that Momentum, Nezu, All Might, and Aizawa were all standing there.

"... yeah, uh," Seeing so many teachers there, so suddenly, caught her off guard. "Give Katsuki a few minutes before talking to him. He's really freaking out and needs some alone time."

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Nezu asked.

"A little. Not a lot." Yurei said, and took some shaky breaths, trying to calm down. "Any luck on catching the person that hurt him?"

"No. All we know is that they have purple hair." Aizawa answered.

"How's Kagura doing?" Yurei asked, turning to Momentum.

"She's a lot calmer since you talked to her. Thank you." Momentum said.

"No problem."

"Aizawa mentioned that Katsuki's mother assaulted you?" Nezu said, looking up at her.

She paused, trying to remember that, and then remembered her face. She hadn't even looked in the mirror since yesterday.

"Yeah, it's complicated and shitty situation. She's living at my parent's house, now, and apparently divorcing Katsuki's dad." Yurei explained.

"Are you and Katsuki's moms friends?" All Might asked.

"Apparently they've been seeing each other for a while. For a year, apparently." Yurei answered, and their eyes widened in surprise. "Mitsuki, Katsuki's mom, is taking my mom to a dark place. I lost my temper with her last night, so she slapped me and kicked me out. Afterwards, Deku and I went over to his mom's to chill out, and then went to the school. That's when we realized Katsuki was missing and went looking for him."

"I'm so sorry, Kasai." Momentum said.

"I was thinking of having Katsuki and his dad go to my mom's place tomorrow, and figure out what's going on. Everything is a mess right now." Yurei said.

"Do you have any other family members to contact, to help your mom?" Aizawa asked.

"My aunt was helping her until Katsuki's mom showed up. If Katsuki's mom leaves, I think she'll come back to help her. She's not going to step into that house with the shit that's going on there, now." Yurei said.

"We'll talk to Bakugou's parents and your mother, and try to get things straightened out. You and Katsuki should focus on getting better and school." Nezu stated.

She wasn't sure how she felt about her school getting involved. Before she could come up with a semblance of a response, she felt her pocket vibrate.

She pulled out her phone, not recognizing the number, and answered it. "Hello."

"Hey, uh, I called you last night when Bakugou showed up at the bar. The guy who attacked him is here. He's bragging about it." He said.

"Where are you? What does he look like?" Yurei asked.

"I'm at the same bar as last night. Came for their lunch special. He's a senior in high school, bright purple hair, average height. His name is Tonoshi Hogaru. Apparently he was getting payback for Bakugou beating him up as a kid."

"Thank you so much, I'll have someone drive over there and pick him up. I really appreciate this." Yurei said, and hung up. She relayed the information to her teachers.

"I'll go pick him up." Aizawa said with a nod.

"I'll go with you." Yurei said, but he shook his head.

"No, I've got this. You should rest." Aizawa said.

"I'm fine. I can go." Yurei insisted.

"How about we get lunch, Kasai? My treat. Aizawa can call us when he's done." Momentum suggested.

Yurei suddenly felt a wave of light-headedness. She needed food.

"Are there any buffets nearby?" Yurei asked.

10.

April 28th, Saturday, 3:30 PM

Momentum was giving her a weird look.

She'd eaten a lot of food. There was a pile of plates next to her. The restaurant owners were giving her concerned looks, too.

"When I use my emotions quirk a lot, I have to eat afterwards, or risk falling into a coma. Something about sending so many electrical signals to other people's brains makes my body's metabolism speed up like crazy. I did a lot of training this week on a school field trip." Yurei explained, and shoved another sushi roll into her mouth.

"... ah." Momentum replied, and took another sip of his soup. "That must be very costly for you."

"When I don't use my quirk all the time, it's fine. I used it a lot last night trying to find Katsuki." Yurei added.

"Do you two fight a lot?" Momentum asked.

"We argue, but we don't fight very often." Yurei said, and sighed as she thought about the other night, and how angry he'd gotten. _His parents dropped a lot of bombshells on him. He's been supporting me through all my crap lately._

"Considering your… history, I'm surprised that you'd date someone like him. You two don't seem like a likely couple." Momentum commented awkwardly.

"We're not. We make it work." Yurei shrugged.

11.

April 28th, Saturday, 6:00 PM

After eating and checking with Aizawa, she went back to check on Katsuki.

The nurse was just leaving when she got there. She looked disgruntled, with a firm frown on her face, and muttered "good luck" as she left.

Katsuki sent her a glare, and then looked away, out the window. Both of his arms were in casts, his hair messy and matted, and his eyes looked crusted and gross. She could still smell the slight scent of gasoline and sewage on him.

"I stopped by the store and got you some shampoo. It might help with the smell." Yurei said, and closed the door behind her.

"Whatever." He muttered.

She set her bag on the chair, pulled out one of her baby wipes, and got closer.

"What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously.

"Cleaning off your face. You look like shit." Yurei said.

"Fuck off." He muttered, but didn't struggle as she started to clean his face. She instructed him to close his eyes, and wiped around them, cleaning them off. She also got some of the brown residue around his hair.

"How long do you have to wear the casts?" Yurei asked.

"Recovery Girl is going to stop by tomorrow, so hopefully just until then. The damage isn't that bad, they're just being cautious." Katsuki said, and seemed to relax the more she worked.

"I'm surprised they weren't more thorough in cleaning you. I bet they rushed because you scared them off." Yurei commented. He grunted.

As she cleaned him off, she realized that below his collar, there was still brown residue, too.

"Did they clean you at all?" Yurei asked.

"They did a quick scrub last night." Katsuki muttered.

Yurei sighed, looking at it, and could feel his awkwardness and embarrassment. With his hands in casts, it's not like he could clean himself. She wasn't exactly sure how to go about getting him cleaned, either. She didn't want him just sitting in literal feces.

"I'll talk to one of the nurses about cleaning you better." Yurei said, and his eyes snapped to hers.

"I'm not some fucking kid, I can clean my damn self." Katsuki snapped.

"With what hands?" Yurei asked.

"I'll figure it out!" He shouted.

"... what if I cleaned you? I can ask the nurse if-"

"Like hell I'm going to let you clean me. I'm not some fucking cat or some shit." Katsuki spat.

"You're saying 'no' to your hot girlfriend giving you a bath?" Yurei asked, and he paused.

"You look like shit right now." He retorted.

She rolled her eyes.

"I'll do what I can with these wipes." Yurei said, and tossed her dirty one into the trash. When he glared at her, he looked so much better than before. So much cleaner.

"You don't have to do that, you know." Katsuki told her.

"I know." Yurei replied. She made sure to not mention that she was using baby wipes; he was a little too sensitive right then. As she looked him up and down, wondering how to go about it, he silently watched her. The longer they were quiet, the more he seemed to calm down and relax.

His breathing started to slow down. His muscles relaxed.

Her gaze moved to his hair, which looked terrible and dark. His ears were dark in the creases.

"I'll start with your head." Yurei decided, and started cleaning off his ears, the back of his neck, and along his hairline. As she cleaned off what she was able to get, she went through multiple wipes.

He flinched as she went over a spot between his shoulder and neck, and she shifted to look closer, finding a bruise and scratch there.

"How'd you get that?" Yurei asked.

"... probably when I fell." Katsuki answered.

"It's not too bad. Could be worse." Yurei said, and finished cleaning up around it, being careful to not aggravate his wound so much.

When she saw his face again, he was quiet and pensive, with a slight blush on his cute cheeks. She got another wipe, and cleaned off his face again, especially around his lips. He mumbled in protest, grumbling something at her, and then she leaned down to kiss him.

He pushed back, licking at her lips, and she practically melted at the touch.

When she pulled away, he growled at her, and leaned in closer to kiss her again, but she put his hand up to his chest and stopped him. "Not until you're cleaner. Your hair is disgusting."

He growled again, and she felt his chest vibrate against her palm, low and deep. She pecked his lips, smiling at his frustrated and longing stare, and went back to looking at his hair.

12.

April 29th, Sunday, 10:00 AM

The next morning, Yurei showed up at Katsuki's hospital room, absolutely livid.

"Why the fuck aren't you pressing charges?" Yurei snapped at him.

"Cuz I don't fucking care, and who the fuck told you?" Katsuki snapped at her.

"Aizawa! He showed up to tell me that he and the other teachers set up a meeting with our parents, and mentioned that you're not pressing charges against the asshole that put you here. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"He's some high school punk. I don't care." Katsuki replied.

"He fucked up your arms! He nearly killed you! What keeps him from going after you again?"

"I'm not stupid enough to fall into another hole." Katsuki scoffed, and the door opened behind her. Recovery Girl smiled as she came in, greeting them both.

Yurei was so frustrated that she walked out, not having the patience to deal with him.

'_I'm not stupid enough to fall in a hole again.' What is wrong with that moron?_

She wore a hoodie that her dad got her, with the UA logo on the front and back. She pulled up the hood, stuffed her hands in her pockets, and relished in the fresh air as she stepped outside. It was a long walk back to school, but she needed to stretch her legs.

She ignored the world around her as she thought about the time her dad had been shot. The blood on her hands.

Someone shoved her, causing her to stumble into an alley, and she looked around to see that she'd been surrounded. They were all young, a bit older than her, with snarling smirks on their faces and weird quirks activated. One of them had large sharpened teeth, another neon yellow eyes, and the guy behind her didn't have a visible quirk, but he was pulling out a knife.

"You're a real up and coming hero, aren't you?" The one with the knife asked.

"We don't like heroes." Yellow eyes said.

"I suggest you leave. I've had a really bad day." Yurei said.

"You think you've had a bad day so far? It's going to get a lot worse."

He lunged, and she used a move that Katsuki had taught her to get the knife out of his hands and send him flying down the alley.

She didn't really think for the next few minutes. She acted purely out of instinct. They tried to hit her, and at one point one of them had her arms while another punched her in the stomach.

Then, she used her phasing quirk. She hit two of them hard enough to knock them out. The last one, though, she kept hitting.

Her knuckles kept colliding with his face.

Covering her hand with blood.

When he went limp under her, she stopped. He looked a lot like Ikari, when Katsuki met him.

Her heart was racing. She felt warm- hot. Adrenaline coursing through her veins.

She stood, and looked around, hands trembling.

They were moaning in pain. Alive.

She looked down at herself. There were a few blood spatters, but aside from the cloth on her wrists, it was subtle enough to get by. She pulled her hood up, looking around to make sure no one saw, and put her hands in her pocket. She went to a McDonalds down the street, and went straight to the bathroom.

There was no one else in there.

She took her hands out, and started to wash them. Her knuckles were raw and bleeding. Her heart was still racing.

She cleaned them off, planning to disinfect them when she got back to the dorms, and debated whether to contact anyone. It's not like those guys would report her to the police. They wouldn't tell the police that a girl beat them up after they attempted to hurt her.

Aizawa would bug her about being safer.

_He's been helping me too much._ She looked at herself in the mirror, finding that there was enough blood spatters to be suspicious. She'd need to get a new jacket before heading back to the dorms.

_Maybe gloves to hide my hands, too._

13.

April 29th, Sunday, 12:00 PM

Katsuki was beginning to get antsy.

He wouldn't be able to leave until that night. Recovery Girl used her quirk on him, but the damage to his hands was extensive. They'd stay in the cast for the rest of the day, and then the doctor would check on them. If they were healed enough, he'd go back to school in bandages.

No phone. No one to talk to. Even the TV was off. The nurse purposely did that to annoy him.

… and then Yurei was pissed at him.

_She was such a tease last night._ He thought sadly, and sighed. Those brief kisses had been way too short, and he saw in her eyes that she wanted them to last longer, too.

_I might not have hands, but she does._

He stopped his thoughts before they progressed. There was no way in hell that he would let someone walk in on him with a boner.

14.

April 29th, Sunday, 9:00 PM

When Katsuki got to the dorms that night, multiple classmates immediately went to him, saying they were glad that he was safe.

Eijirou pulled him in for a hug.

"Be safer next time, dumb ass. Call me for shit like that." Eijirou told him in a low voice. Katsuki grunted, patted him on the back, and shoved him off. When Deku approached, he narrowed his eyes at him, causing him to tense and stop in his tracks.

"I'm glad you're okay, Ka-chan. Yurei and I were really worried about you." Deku said.

"Why the fuck were you hanging out with Blue?" Katsuki asked.

"Dude, chill the fuck out. Where is she?" Eijirou asked, looking behind him.

"I haven't seen her since this morning. I pissed her off. She's not here?" Katsuki asked.

"No, no one's seen her today, and she's not in her room. Mirio was looking for her, too. We all figured that she was with you." Eijirou said.

_Damn it, Blue._

"Do you have your phone?" Katsuki asked, and he nodded. "Then call her."

As Eijirou pulled out his phone to call her, Mina came up from behind him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. When she looked at Katsuki, she rolled her eyes. "Looks like everyone was worried over nothing. You smell like shit."

"Hey, Yurei, where are you? I thought you were with Katsuki?" Eijirou spoke into the phone.

"Yureeeeeei, I need yooooou," Mina whined into the phone, and Eijirou strained to keep her away and listen to whatever Yurei was saying.

"Are you with anyone? … Aizawa's not going to be happy about that. He said yesterday that they're going to be starting a buddy system. No one leaves campus without someone else." Eijirou spoke.

Katsuki took the phone from him.

"What's going on, Blue? Where the fuck are you?" Katsuki asked.

"I got this note from some stranger asking to fight, so I went to the location, and I got stuck in a hole. Gosh darn it, I fell for such a clever plot, I don't know how I could have ever seen it coming. Sending me a note was such a clever way to get me to a remote location in the middle of nowhere without anyone knowing where I am." Yurei said, and his eye twitched in annoyance. "And then the hole, it was so cleverly disguised-"

"Stop fucking around. Where are you?" Katsuki snapped.

"I'm on my way back, I just lost track of time. I was shopping at the mall. I thought getting a present for my mom might help diffuse the shit storm." Yurei said, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Did you go alone?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah. I was so pissed at you that I didn't want to be around anyone for a while. Hopefully I can make it back before curfew. I might call security and give them a heads up that I'm on my way." Yurei said.

He thought back to her face yesterday, when she cried.

"Alright, just be safe, idiot." Katsuki said, and handed it back to Eijirou.

15.

April 29th, Sunday, 9:05 PM

A tired sigh escaped her lips. She'd lost track of time.

Most of her day felt like a daze. She didn't even notice the mall closing down around her.

People were going home, closing up shops, and doing perimeter checks. When Aizawa finds out that she spent the entire day off campus, without any protection whatsoever, he would probably be pissed.

_He's been looking out for me a lot, lately._

She didn't want to know how the conversation between her mom, Katsuki's parents, and her teachers went. She'd never needed to have her teachers interact with her parents outside of school before. There had simply been no reason for the extra interaction, and she was surprised that they were intervening in this situation at all.

With a deep breath, and exhale, she grabbed her new backpack filled with stuff she bought, and left the mall with everyone else. She hopped onto the bus that would take her straight to campus.

After paying the driver, she went towards the middle, and sat down in a vacant spot. She put her back pack on her lap. Some guy sat next to her, and when she glanced at him, he gave her a friendly smile.

"Long day?" He asked.

He had a charming smile, and his blond hair peeking out from under his beanie reminded her of Katsuki's. He wore a casual gray jacket and simple jeans, reeked of cigarette smoke, and had a slight stubble.

"Yeah. Long week. Long year, actually." Yurei replied.

"Looks like it. You get in a cat fight or something?" He asked, and gestured to his face.

"Something like that. I'm not a fan of my mom's new friend. She doesn't like me, either." Yurei answered.

"That's rough. Parents are hard. Mine passed away when I was pretty young." He said.

"I'm sorry. I lost my dad the other week. My mom… she hasn't been handling it well." Yurei said.

"How'd he die?"

"He was working at H.T.S. when the League of Villains attacked. He was a bit of a workaholic." Yurei answered.

"My name is Jin, by the way." Jin introduced.

"I'm Yurei. Nice to meet you." Yurei replied.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"You look pretty tired, too. Rough day?" Yurei asked.

"Something like that. The job I'm working at is rough some days. I'm in charge of recruiting people for it, and some of my colleagues are a bit difficult to deal with. Plus, there's this girl I like, but she's not interested. She's hung up on someone else. There's another girl that I like, and she's a really cool person, but I'm terrified of approaching her." Jin explained, and she could sense that he really liked her.

"Why is that?" Yurei asked.

"She's beautiful, strong, talented… I don't really know what to say to her. She also has a boyfriend." Jin explained.

"You seem to have a thing for girls that are taken, huh?"

"Seems that way. I just can never find someone that's free, cute, and interested. I mean it's not at the top of my priorities list, I have other things that I love to do, but… it would be nice to have a girl to go home to. I'm sorry, I'm rambling." Jin apologized.

"It's okay. Dating is rough… I've had my share of dating problems lately. My boyfriend…" Yurei said, and trailed off. "He's something. I almost want to swear off dating all together. All of it is a hassle, and I've never had good luck in finding someone that's cute, nice, and sane. They always end up being assholes."

"Your current boyfriend doesn't hurt you, does he?"

"Nah, not on purpose, at least. We were playing a group game the other day, and he accidentally tackled me. Fractured three of my ribs." Yurei told him, and he winced.

"Ouch. Is he a football player, or something?"

"We're both students at UA. He's been teaching me how to fight, actually. He's rough, he's annoying, and he yells a lot, but he's also taught me a lot. He's helped me build a lot of self-confidence and feel stronger than I used to be." Yurei explained, and felt her pocket vibrate. She pulled out her phone. Aizawa. "Sorry, I have to take this."

"Go for it." Jin said with a smile, and pulled out his own phone.

She answered the call. "Heeeey, sensei, how's it going?"

"Why aren't you at campus?" Aizawa asked.

"I'm on the bus headed there now. I lost track of time at the mall." Yurei said.

"Who's with you?" Aizawa asked.

"... no one was at the dorms because of their internships, so I went on my own. I'm fine." Yurei assured.

"I'll meet you by the gates. How close are you?" Aizawa asked, and she craned her neck to look outside.

"I'm about fifteen minutes away." Yurei answered.

"I'll see you there."

He hung up.

Yurei let out a tired sigh.

"You get in trouble?" Jin asked.

"Yeah. He's probably going to lecture me when I get to campus. I'm not supposed to leave school grounds by myself, especially with all the crazy shit going on with the League of Villains." Yurei said.

"Then why'd you do it? Leave by yourself, that is." Jin asked.

"... a lot of reasons. I visited my dad's grave, and I was upset at my boyfriend, so I didn't want to be around anyone. It's not a good excuse, but… oh well." Yurei said, and let out another tired sigh. She rubbed her tired eyes.

"There's a lot of nut jobs out there. You probably should take a buddy next time. You seem like a good person." Jin commented.

They chatted for a while longer until her stop. She thanked him for the conversation, and hopped off the bus, her mood deflating when she saw Aizawa by the gates with the guards.

"I asked you to not leave campus on your own." Aizawa reminded.

"Am I in trouble?" Yurei asked, not bothering to defend herself.

"You're confined to campus grounds for the next week. If you leave without express permission from a teacher, you'll be expelled." Aizawa said, and her jaw tensed.

"Isn't that a little harsh? I can't be the only person who leaves campus on their own. Is Katsuki stuck on campus, too?"

"Yes. Tomorrow we're officially implementing the buddy policy, where no one can leave campus unless they have someone to go with them. They also have to give a contact number to security and tell them where they're going. Breaking the curfews and buddy policy will have harsher punishments." Aizawa said.

"What's with the sudden change?" Yurei asked.

"The staff decided that in order to better protect our students, we need stricter guidelines. If Bakugou hadn't been alone, he wouldn't have been attacked." Aizawa reasoned.

She bit her tongue.

"We also talked to your mom and Bakugou's parents. Bakugou's mother agreed to give your mother space as she grieves for your father, and your aunt will go back to staying with her." Aizawa said, and she let out a sigh of relief.

She didn't think that would work.

"You have class tomorrow morning. You should get to bed." Aizawa added at the end.

"Thank you for talking to my mom." Yurei said softly.

Aizawa ended up walking her back to their dorm. They didn't say anything else.

She waved goodbye as she phased into the building, and had planned to go straight to bed, when she heard a shrill scream from one of the couches and blur lunge at her.

Acting on reflex, she grabbed her wrist and moved out of her way, dodging her, and then froze when she was a few feet away.

Mina.

_Not attacking me. Chill the fuck out._ Yurei immediately straightened her posture and apologized. "Sorry, you startled me, Mina."

"You're so jumpy! What's wrong? Did Bakugou try to throw you at another jellyfish?" Mina teased as she came forward to pull her into a hug, but then stopped. Her hands went to either side of Yurei's face, inspecting her, and making a face. "What happened? Are you sick? Did someone hit you?"

"I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping a lot." Yurei said, and Mina kissed her cheek and pulled her into a hug.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight? We can have Eijirou and Katsuki over, too." Mina said, and Yurei rolled her eyes.

"I'll be fine, I'm just tired." Yurei said, keeping Mina in the hug. The embrace felt too good in that moment, being in someone's warm arms, and she didn't realize just how much she'd needed that.

That hug felt too good.

Too warm.

"You get new gloves?" Eijirou asked.

Yurei looked up, and realized that Katsuki and Eijirou were watching them from the couch. They had textbooks near them, a few glasses of water, and an empty plate with crumbs.

"... yeah. It helps with my quirk." Yurei answered.

She didn't want to let Mina go.

"Can I see them?" Mina asked.

Reluctantly, Yurei let her go, and held up her hands. She'd bought a new light blue jacket and matching leather gloves.

While Mina 'ooh'd at them, holding her hand, Yurei tried not to flinch at the pain. "They're so cute! What else did you get at the mall, and why didn't you take me with you?"

"I felt like being alone for a while." Yurei didn't want to mention that she stopped by her father's grave.

"Show me what else you got! Did you get lingerie?" Mina asked.

"No, I just got a new shirt, this jacket, and then the gloves. I spent a lot of time window shopping and eating crap food. Oh, I also bought a new portable charger for my phone. The other one has been getting dinged up." Yurei described.

"Show me the shirt! I wanna see!" Mina insisted.

The shirt was in her bag with the bloody hoodie.

"How about tomorrow? I really am tired. Also, apparently I'm on house arrest. Aizawa was pissed that I didn't have a buddy, so now I'm not allowed to leave campus at all this week." Yurei said, and Mina's shoulders fell.

"That sucks, Yu Yu." Mina said.

"Oh no, you and Bakugou stuck on campus together for a week. What will you do to survive?" Eijirou jested from the couch.

16.

May 1st, Monday, 6:20 AM

Katsuki was slightly irked when Yurei chose to partner with Tsu the following day, but he was intrigued when he watched them.

Yurei was jumpy as hell. She tried to brush it off and act normal, but every loud sound, every sudden movement from Tsu, sent her into a defensive stance or Tsu with her back against the mat.

"You and Yurei get in a fight?" Denki asked as they jogged.

"She's pissed that I didn't press charges against the asshole that attacked me. For some reason she's really jumpy today, though." Katsuki commented.

"Eh?"

Denki looked over just as Yurei jumped, and then tried to act cool.

"Reminds me of the first time I got jumped after school. I was looking around corners for a week." Denki said.

_She is wearing gloves_._ Did she get into a fight and doesn't want anyone to know?_ Katsuki wondered with a smirk. He was going to have fun with this.

17.

May 1st, Monday, 12:20 PM

As her friends chatted in the dining room around her, she tuned them out, focusing on her food. She'd made rice and beans, something simple.

She kept thinking about the fight. Seeing so much blood on her hands.

There wasn't much point in telling Aizawa. That would just get her into more trouble, somehow.

Someone nudged her arm, and looked over, realizing that Katsuki was trying to get her attention. "You seem pretty out of it today. You hit your head, or something?"

"... no." _Pretty sure I didn't hit my head in that fight._

"Why are you still wearing your gloves? They must be pretty dirty from training this morning." Katsuki asked.

"... I felt like it." Yurei shrugged.

"Why were you wearing fingerless gloves? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of your quirk?" Katsuki asked.

"... what?"

"You said that you sometimes wear gloves so that when you phase, you subconsciously reach your quirk out past your fingertips, and avoid losing skin. Those don't cover your fingertips." Katsuki pointed out.

"... I thought they would look cool. I'm trying to get in the habit of wearing gloves more often, but I didn't want to wear full gloves during class."

"And they do look cool! So cool. Right, Eiji?" Mina chimed in.

"Yeah, they look pretty cool." Eijirou agreed.

"Why are you wearing them now, though? They're gross from class." Katsuki pointed out.

"It's less gross than falling into a hole of shit and gasoline." Eijirou said.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Katsuki shouted as he got up, starting a fight with him.

After an eventful lunch, Katsuki followed Yurei over to her room.

She didn't think much of it. He did it all the time.

He set his book bag on the ground against her bed, and then, when her back was turned to her, he came up quickly. His hands went to her hips, pulling her flush against him, and her cheeks went blazing.

"So why do you keep the gloves on, huh?" Katsuki whispered in her ear, and fear trickled up her spine as he nipped at her ear.

"Why are you obsessing over the gloves?" Yurei asked, and tried to get some space, but he tightened his grip.

"Seems like you're hiding something."

Her heart sped up.

"Like what?" Yurei asked.

"Something dirty."

The way he said that sent chills through her, and he kept nipping at her ear while his hands explored her torso. He was warm against her, the breathing driving her insane, and she could feel him hardening against her lower back.

"So what did you do?" Katsuki asked, and reached up to her chin, forcing her to look at him. She instinctively tried to turn her head away, but his grip was firm and his face close. He leaned in, his lips barely touching her own, and she could feel his entertained eyes on her.

"N-none of your business." Yurei replied.

"I'll make you talk. One way or another."

He leaned in, kissing her, and she melted against him. His tongue licked at her lips, barging into her mouth, and explored her wet cavern with an intensity she hadn't felt from him before.

18.

May 1st, Monday, 2:00 PM

Their make out session didn't last as long as he would have liked. He got a little too excited too quickly.

They ended up in their usual places in her room, though. He lounged on her bed, reading, while she sat at her desk doing the same. Just being around her made him feel more calm, and she seemed content with these quiet moments, too.

"Who'd you get in a fight with?" Katsuki asked, and she tensed.

"Wh-why do you think I got in a fight with anyone?" Yurei stuttered.

"You've been jumpy all day. You covered up your hands." Katsuki listed off.

She let out a tired sigh. She was doing that a lot lately.

"Some guys pushed me into an alley when I was walking back to campus. Aizawa is already on my case about being safe, so I didn't want to tell him." Yurei said.

"You should take your gloves off when you're not in public. I'm guessing that they're swelling up pretty bad." Katsuki told her.

She stared at her hands for a moment, considering it, and then slowly took them off. Her hands were bandaged underneath, soaked with blood around her knuckles.

"Why did you fight them like that? Why not use your quirks?" Katsuki asked.

She shrugged.

There was a spark in her eyes, though. A glimmer that he knew all too well.

She _liked_ it. She _liked_ beating the shit out of those guys with her bare hands, she just didn't want to admit it.

_You're just like me._

That gave him a lot of ideas for their future training sessions. He'd been showing her more practical moves in their sparring sessions, but since she'd been gaining muscle and liked the power aspect, there were other moves that he could show her.


	21. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:** Yoooo the PNW is on FIRE! I've been waking up to apocalypse filters on my windows the last two days because of the smoke. YEET.

On the more serious side: if you live on the Pacific Northwest, keep up with the fires! If one sparks in your area, you could only get a moment's notice before having to evacuate. We've got historic winds and conditions setting up horrendous fires all over. Don't panic, but don't under react, too. If you're in a dangerous area, have things ready to go, just in case, or at least have a plan. Keep pets indoors, if you can, and be aware that some wildlife may be fleeing the fires to your area, etc. Then, just chill- once you've prepared, all you can do is wait.

One of the reasons I emphasize this is because my dad and his GF are horribly out of touch with real time events happening- I brought up the fires yesterday early afternoon and they thought I was overreacting. Then, later, I brought up more specific instances of evacuation/details, and my dad actually started to get it. He just said "Oregon City? ... oh... I, uh, don't watch the news..." and FINALLY started doing research, 8 hours after I originally brought it up.

Side note on that topic: It was legit so interesting watching the difference in generational response to the smoke outside. When my SO and I saw it, we immediately had an instant panic response of "THIS IS ZOMBIE MOVIE COLORS" and looked up information and stuff, taking it super seriously. I came home and my dad had all the lights out, because he "liked how it looked", (bathing the house in an eerie yellow/orange glow) and I overheard him and his GF talking about how they've "never seen anything like this before", and how it looked so cool.

For anyone really needing a distraction while they're waiting for news- here's a chapter! Good luck, my heart goes out to everyone affected, and stay safe!

As always, thank you for the faves, follows, and reviews!** The chapter is a bit intense, so read responsibly!**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

_Ballroom Dancing and Zombies_

May 1st, Monday, 7:00 PM

That evening, Yurei let out an aggravated sigh.

Mina was a terrible follow. Every time Yurei tried to lead her into something other than the basics to salsa, she'd stumble and laugh. After the bajillionth time, and Mina giggling like mad, Yurei put her hands on either side of her face, and looked her in the eye. "Stop. Back. Leading."

"But I just get so excited, and you take forever to do a move!" Mina whined.

"Because you're not following. If you were following, I'd do tons of moves with you. It doesn't work if you back lead and I'm leading a completely different move." Yurei explained, and sighed, turning to the boys on the couch. "Eijirou, do you want to try following?"

"Oi, why don't you ask me?" Katsuki asked with a glare.

"Because you would probably throw me into a headlock." Yurei answered.

"Are you supposed to do headlocks?" Katsuki asked.

"No, you're supposed to dance. No head locks, no punching, no hitting." Yurei replied.

"Relax, Yurei. Why are you so worked up anyway?" Denki asked.

"Because I'm going dancing with my mom and aunt next week, and I haven't practiced in over a year. My mom loves dancing, so I need to remember how to lead and follow most Latin dances. If I suck, then my mom will be upset." Yurei explained.

"Why does dancing mean so much to her?" Mina asked.

"It's how my parents bonded. My mom loves dancing, and this is going to be a huge step for her. We used to dance together when I was little. I can't mess this up." Yurei explained.

"I didn't know that you were into dancing so much." Mina commented.

"I used to do it a lot when I was little, but I haven't done it as much over the years." Yurei said.

"Let's try it again! I'll try to be better!" Mina said.

"How about I try with someone else for a little while?" Yurei suggested.

"Show me how to do it." Katsuki said as he stood, and shoved Mina out of the way.

"You want to learn how to follow salsa?" Yurei asked skeptically.

"Just show me. It doesn't look that difficult." Katsuki told her. She sighed again.

"Let's start with the basics." Yurei said.

"I was watching, I know them."

"It's one thing to see them, it's another to do."

"Just turn on the fucking music." Katsuki barked.

Eijirou played the music, and to her surprise, Katsuki was actually doing them right. He was extremely stiff, but the moves were right. Then, she went to go into closed position with him, and she was again surprised when he went to the correct position.

"You've done this before?" Yurei asked as she looked up at him.

"No, but I've been watching you and Mina dance for two fucking hours. It's not that hard." Katsuki said.

"... alright." Yurei said, and started to lead him in the basics.

… he actually followed them. He even followed turns, and some other moves that she hadn't taught Mina directly. He stumbled a few times, he was stiff as hell, his feet were off, and he kept looking down at his feet, but he could follow amazingly. All of his fighting probably helped.

"You're a natural follow." Yurei said in surprise.

"It's fucking easy." Katsuki said as they danced.

"Gay." Denki snickered.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Katsuki suddenly yelled.

"Ignore him." Yurei told him.

"Eijiiiiii, I want to dance with you like that." Mina whined as she leaned against him.

"Eh." Eijirou shrugged, seeming uninterested.

"Eijirou, Denki, look up Argentine Tango dancing and then try to tell me that dancing is gay." Yurei instructed, and went back to dancing with Katsuki. "Relax your shoulders a little more."

As Yurei gave him feedback, he took her seriously, paying attention to her words and nodding along. Every once in a while he'd ask a clarifying question.

"THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE TEACHING HIM!?" Denki shrieked.

"That's sex with clothes on!" Eijirou shouted.

"I wanna see!" Mina exclaimed.

"It's a different dance with a similar style. Latin dances tend to be pretty raunchy." Yurei said.

"I wanna learn that!" Mina said as she watched the video.

"I'm pretty sure that's physically impossible." Eijirou replied.

As she danced with Katsuki, recalling all the moves from so long ago, she started to feel more at ease. He followed well enough that she could practice moves she'd learned years ago, and in order to make him feel "less gay", she added a few saucy moves.

Dancing closer, with their legs brushing together. Latin movement, moving her hips and shoulders with the dance. Looking deep into his eyes, moving him around, and keeping them in constant contact.

"That's not what you were doing with me!" Mina accused with a pout.

"Because you were back leading." Yurei replied, and when she looked back up at Katsuki, caught him looking at her breasts. They did basic steps a few more times, with Katsuki giving her an unapologetic smirk, and he let her continue leading him in other moves.

1.

May 8th, Monday, 5:00 PM

The week went by in a blur of dance practice, training, school, and then her Mermaid Heel internship over the weekend. So many things were going on that she barely noticed being bound to the school.

Mirio and a group of his friends came over to the commons, and lounged on the couches.

"You guys want to play Spin the Truth?" Mirio asked as he leaned back, stretching his arms behind the couch. His girlfriend smiled next to him, her rainbow hair glistening beautifully in the light, and wearing a yellow polkadot dress.

A lot of people were gathered in the lounge, coming when they heard that Mirio was there.

"What's that?" Denki asked.

"Sura has a quirk, where whenever she touches someone, she can make them blurt out a random thing about their life. Sometimes it's secrets, sometimes it's just random things. We spin a bottle in the middle of our group, and whoever it lands on, has to let Sura use her quirk on them." Mirio said with a smile.

"Everyone has to swear to secrecy if someone says something they don't want getting out." Sura added.

"That sounds fun! Do it to me!" Mina said excitedly from the floor. She was kneeling by the table, and bouncing excitedly up and down.

Sura leaned forward, and tapped her forehead.

"I hate peanut butter. Ah!" Mina said, and laughed.

"I'm game." Eijirou said.

"Do we want to add some booze?" Denki asked with a grin.

"I can't drink too much, I have a test tomorrow." Mina said.

"I'll drink." Mirio said with a smile.

As they got drinks started, Yurei looked to Katsuki, who was playing on his phone. He was playing Tetris. "Are you going to play?" Yurei asked him.

"Whatever." He muttered.

"You don't have to stay. You can go to your room or whatever." Yurei told him.

"I'll stay." He muttered.

"You okay?"

"Whatever."

Yurei gave him a worried look, wondering what was wrong, but turned her attention to the other people around them. They were getting ready to play.

"Ooh, Yurei, I have an idea," Mirio spoke, getting his attention. "We can play truth or dare. Truth means they have to let Sura touch them, dare means that you make them feel the effects of a random drug for a minute."

"You can do that!?" Mashirao gasped.

"Any high that a person has experienced around me, I can replicate in someone else." Yurei said, and everyone "aah"d at her.

"How have you never told me this!?" Mina exclaimed while grabbing and shaking her.

"You never asked?"

"WHY WOULD I ASK THAT!?"

"So do people want to play that?" Mirio asked, and there was a resounding "yes" from the group. "Should we keep the bottle, or make it more truth or dare style?"

"I think truth or dare." Sura said.

"Who wants to start?" Mirio asked.

"Bakugou! Truth or dare?" Mashirao started with a smirk.

"... I guess truth." Katsuki replied gruffly.

Sura leaned over and tapped his cheek.

"I hate penguins." Katsuki stated, and the group burst into laughter.

"Wait, what happens if someone asks Yurei or I a question?" Sura asked.

"You can take a shot for your second option." Mirio shrugged.

"Shitty hair, truth or dare?" Katsuki asked Eijirou.

"Dare." Eijirou replied with a smile.

"What drug should I do?" Yurei asked.

"I don't know. Something weird." Katsuki said.

"Oh come on, make it fun." Eijirou requested.

Yurei thought about the different highs she'd been around. When Mirio first started college here, he'd bring her to some parties, and exposed her to a lot of them. He wouldn't let her try any of them, and he actually kept a pretty watchful eye on her, but he loved using her drug quirk. He loved experiencing the highs without the drugs.

Leaning forward, she gave Eijirou one of the more fun and silly ones she'd seen. Immediately, he started giggling and laughing.

"You should set a timer." Mirio said, and she pulled out her phone to start one.

"Oh my gosh! Your hair!" Eijirou marveled as he turned to Mina, and started playing with her hair. His eyes were wide, pupils the size of saucers, and he was completely enamored by the pink strands.

Mina played with him, making silly sounds and faces, which made Eijirou laugh hysterically. Once the minute was up, she deactivated her quirk. By that time everyone started laughing hysterically at him.

"Mina! Truth or dare?" Eijirou asked.

"Truth!" Mina exclaimed, and was touched on the cheek by Sura. "I someday want to be such a famous hero that I have a dildo themed after me."

The group burst into laughter again.

"Yurei! Truth or shot?"

"Truth." Yurei said, and reached over to tap Sura's hand. "I hate tulips."

"How the fuck do you hate flowers!?" Mina asked her.

"They look weird." Yurei shrugged with a smile.

For the next half hour, they played the game. People blurted random truths, some of them hilarious and personal, while others were mundane. Yurei mixed up the drugs, so that not all of them were super happy, and more on the stranger side.

"Bakugou, truth or shot?" Mirio asked with a grin.

"Truth." Katsuki grunted. He hadn't been very invested in the game, except to occasionally laugh and point at one of his friends that got high. Denki was pretty hilarious.

Sura leaned forward, and poked his cheek.

"Eating candy reminds me of my uncle's dick." Katsuki said.

The group burst into laughter, and Katsuki's eyes went wide in alarm.

"If I saw my uncle in a candy printed thong I'd be traumatized for life, too." Yurei added, causing the group to laugh louder.

"Really, dude? That's sick." Denki said between laughs.

"Oi, dumb face- truth or dare?!" Katsuki shouted at Denki.

"Truth!" Denki replied, and Sura leaned forward again, tapping his cheek. "I like long walks on the beach! Oh, that wasn't too bad. Iida, truth or dare?"

"Truth." Tenya answered. When Sura tapped him, he blurted, "I'm gay."

There was a collective awkward silence, staring at him in awe, and his eyes went wide in horror.

"Karma." Yurei said, and suddenly, the group erupted into laughter.

Tenya's horrified eyes locked with hers, and she winked at him. He let out a sigh of relief.

"I had no idea, dude! We should go to a gay bar sometime! I've always wanted to see what they're like." Denki said.

"Good for you, dude." Eijirou added with a thumbs up.

Tenya nearly cried in happiness.

"Y-y-you're all so wonderful!" Tenya cried.

Yurei was surprised to feel Katsuki's bandaged hand reaching for her own. His other hand was with his phone, ignoring everyone around him.

As people chatted and the game stilled, Yurei reached for one of the hard ciders, and slowly sipped on it. She offered Katsuki a sip, and he shook his head.

2.

May 9th, Tuesday, 2:00 PM

The next day, Katsuki looked up as Eijirou emerged. He was dressed in a plain black hoodie and simple jeans, with a black beanie to cover his trademark red hair.

Katsuki looked down the hall and jumped to his feet, discreetly following Eijirou out the door.

"This is a stupid plan even for you, Bakugou." Eijirou muttered as they walked. Katsuki texted Yurei, telling her that he and Eijirou were going for a walk, and that they'd be back in a few hours.

"You don't have to come." Katsuki reminded him. He always reminded him for shit like this, when he risked his student status over him. When they could get arrested for the shit he was planning to do. Ever since they met, sophomore year of high school, whenever Katsuki went out to do something dangerous or shady, Eijirou would go with him.

"I'm not letting you go on your own. I'm not going to let you get stuck in a shit hole again." Eijirou replied, and Katsuki grunted at the memory.

That kid was going to pay.

"You should have just pressed charges and be done with it." Eijirou added as they walked, keeping his voice low.

"Then that shit head would tell people about what I did to him, and I'd be in trouble."

"Do you even remember what you did to him?"

"No. All those losers look the same." Katsuki replied, and Eijirou cursed under his breath.

"You have such a messed up head, Bakugou. You're afraid of that kid talking and you don't even know if he has anything worthwhile on you? And whatever that beef is happened what, at least ten years ago? It was third grade, right?" Eijirou asked.

"He claims it was second grade. I don't fucking remember."

"Then let the school handle it and make charges. Whatever you did wasn't as bad as leaving you to die in a hole, and beating up a kid in high school will look bad on your resume. If people find out-"

"He won't tell anyone. I'll make sure of that." Katsuki said determinedly.

3.

May 9th, Tuesday, 2:00 PM

Yurei looked down the hallway, double-checking that no one was nearby.

Ochaco had pulled Yurei into the laundry room, absolutely terrified. She was on the verge of tears, her breathing erratic, and hands trembled.

Lucky for them, the room was empty. People were busy with classes or studying at the library for the upcoming exams.

"Just breathe, and tell me what happened." Yurei said calmly.

She nodded, her hands together on her chest, trying to control her breathing and calm down. After a few minutes of being unable to communicate, she handed her her phone.

Yurei held the device for a moment, looking at the image, and then tapped the 'play' button. Soon, she realized that the video was two people having sex in a car, and one of them was very clearly Ochaco. Whoever was on her was definitely not Deku, sporting bright blue hair. When they took their t-shirt off, she saw a multitude of tattoos.

She stopped the video and used her quirk to calm Ochaco down.

"Did you cheat on Deku?" Yurei asked.

"... he cheated on me. With Tenya." Ochaco said in a low voice, and sniffled. "So I did something dumb… really dumb. I just… I was stupid. I don't know what I was thinking. I just went on a dating hook up app, and met a guy. Things went so fast. He recorded it, and now he's blackmailing me."

Yurei's heart fell at that, and her shoulders slumped.

She checked out the door again, making sure that no one was eavesdropping.

She returned to Ochaco.

"What is he asking for?" Yurei asked.

"H-he wants me to have sex with him again, or else he threatens to post that all over the internet. He's threatening to send it to my teachers. My friends. My parents." Ochaco explained.

"Where does he want to meet?" Yurei asked.

"A-at his apartment." Ochaco stuttered, and looked up at her with her big, watery brown eyes. "I was so stupid, and I don't know what to do. If I go to the police, he'll post the video everywhere."

The police department was already busy with cases, and lower priority things like this wouldn't be dealt with quickly. If her dad was still alive, she'd go through the H.T.S. They would have some power over this, since their department crosses into this kind of thing a lot.

_We could go to Aizawa. He doesn't seem like the person to judge._

But then she remembered how exhausted he'd looked every time she'd seen him lately. He and the other teachers were exhausted dealing with the safety of their students. They were teaching, doing night shifts, helping the police with the League of Villains, and then dealing with students when they did stupid shit, like Katsuki.

The teachers, especially Aizawa and All Might, though, had been great in dealing with Ikari and Yurei's entire situation with him.

"We should go to Aizawa." Yurei said.

"No." Ochaco said with a shake of her head. "No way. I don't want him seeing this."

"We don't have to show him the video, just say that it exists." Yurei said, but Ochaco shook her head defiantly.

Yurei released her quirk.

"I'm releasing my quirk because whatever we decide, has to be your decision. I don't want you to think that I was coercing you into anything. I really think that we should go to the teachers, though." Yurei insisted, and followed Ochaco as she went to a seat, beginning to cry.

Yurei knelt in front of her, her hands comfortingly on Ochaco's arms, and she spent the next twenty minutes consoling her.

"Y-you w-worked with the H.T.S., and they handled s-s-stuff like th-this." Ochaco stuttered. "Please… please… help me. I can't let anyone else see this."

4.

May 9th, Tuesday, 2:30 PM

Katsuki hated riding the bus. It always smelled so bad.

They sat towards the middle of the bus, their hoods up. Katsuki's face would be recognizable enough to draw attention from strangers, so he wanted to obscure it as much as possible. He'd contemplated the idea of wearing a mask, but forewent it.

His thoughts kept going to ripping the head off of that shit head.

The bus occasionally jostled.

Usual dull conversations went on around him. There was a small group of teenagers in the back that giggled and laughed; they were probably skipping school that day. They had beach gear with them, and seemed pretty young, early teenage years.

Eijirou kept looking around them, and occasionally checking his phone.

Katsuki stared at his bandaged hands, remembering the feeling of being stuck in that hole. Of wondering if he'd die there.

He could have died from exposure. If he fell a few more times, slipped on that slick concrete, he wouldn't have gotten out. No one would have found him.

One bad slip, and he could have hit his head.

One miscalculation of his quirk, and he'd be dead.

He'd kept fighting, kept working out a new plan to escape. When one plan failed, he started on the next. He was slow, controlled, and meticulous. His years of training and impeccable control is what allowed him to escape.

He hated feeling helpless.

One mistake could have cost him his life.

Without Yurei by his side, he felt more nervous. He'd grown too accustomed to being around her. He spent every moment of spare time he had, with her. He was even spending less time at the gym with the guys to be with her. If only she wasn't terrified of working out with their male classmates; she barely tolerated it in class.

"Yurei will probably find out, you know. Are you ready for that?" Eijirou asked him.

_She knows what I am._

"I don't care." Katsuki replied.

"She was really worried about you when you disappeared. She was hitting the streets, hard, searching for you. If you get hurt again-"

"I won't." Katsuki cut off.

There was only one person that was going to be hurt that day, and that was Tonishi Hogaru.

5.

May 9th, Tuesday, 2:45 PM

When they were about a block from the asshole's apartment, they snuck into an empty alley.

Yurei took her thick black jacket off, and wrapped the arms around her waist. She wore a short skirt and bright pink tights, with a lowcut black shirt that showed off her cleavage. She had a lot of make up on her face, and after taking off the jacket, put a sick mask on her face to cover her nose and mouth. The mask had hearts all over it, and was deceptively strong. On the off chance this guy tried to use a gas on them, a quirk or whatever, she'd be mostly safe.

Ochaco wore pants and a t-shirt, nothing conspicuous.

Yurei's hair was up in a messy bun, and she used a style that she didn't normally do for it. She also wore gaudy purple earrings and a pink heart necklace. She looked like a hooker.

"Are y-you sure this will work?" Ochaco asked.

"Nope. We'll threaten him, erase the videos, and leave, hoping that he doesn't have a back up somewhere or goes back on his word. Do you want me to use my quirk on you to stay calm and rational?" Yurei asked, and she nodded.

"Thank you, Yurei… for helping me." Ochaco said in a low voice.

"You're going to owe me one, alright?" Yurei said, and Ochaco nodded.

She cast her quirk on her.

"Alright, lets go."

They emerged from the alley, and started to walk down the street together. A group of boys on a doorstep whistled at them, and Yurei flipped them the bird as they kept walking.

Yurei's heart raced in her chest.

If this went bad, it could go really bad.

"You sure that you won't go to a teacher?" Yurei asked her, and Ochaco nodded.

"I'd rather die."

A shiver went down her spine, and Yurei bit the inside of her cheek. She knew that feeling all too well, and didn't want to test her on it. When she wasn't using her quirk on her, Ochaco's emotions were volatile, on par with Katsuki's depression, guilt, and self-hatred.

They entered the building, and went up to the third floor.

Yurei banged on the door.

When it opened, the bright blue hair emerged, accompanied by a sneering loser. He looked about ten years older than them, in his late twenties, and looked like he hadn't bathed in a while. There was a gross sheen to his skin.

"I told you to come alone." He told Ochaco, but his eyes were moving up and down Yurei's body.

"I came for emotional support." Yurei said, and he nodded, opening the door further.

They walked inside, and saw that the main space was set up for recording. There was a bed with a sheet on it, a pillow, lots of lights, and two cameras. Two men were manning the cameras, wearing casual clothes. They both seemed normal, with short hair, average t-shirts, and jeans. Nothing unique about them.

"Wh-what is this?!" Ochaco asked, her eyes roaming around the mostly bare room.

"I want to remember our time together." The said with a creepy smile.

"You are so lucky the H.T.S. is down, otherwise you would be so fucked right now." Yurei said, causing him to give her a weird look. "Delete the video of her, shit head."

"I don't think you know how this works." He said.

She kicked him in the balls, hard, sending him holding his crotch and falling to the floor.

One of the camera guys hulked out, his skin turning green as his muscles bulged, and the other guy looked ready to fight.

"Do you want to know what my quirk is, assholes?" Yurei asked, and then continued. "I can give people a heart attack with a single touch, leaving no trace behind. If I touched any of you right now, your death would be ruled as natural."

"You're a fucking bitch." The guy on the floor said.

The purple guy came at her, and Ochaco jumped back, out of the way.

Yurei flipped him, sending him flying behind her, into the wall.

"Here's the thing, dude. I'm good friends with heroes from all over the world." Yurei said, and pulled out her phone, and pulled up a photo of All Might in his bigger form. She turned it to show it to him. "All Might. Night Star. Sunshine. Harvestor. Momentum. Eraser Head. Yoko Uno. Super Grass. Goblin Green."

She showed him all the casual photos she'd gotten of them over the years.

"If you leak the videos, I'll tell all these heroes what you did to my friend." Yurei said, and then took a picture of the guy's face, and showed it to him. "And I'll send this photo to all of them. The police will come here. Heroes, will come here. Whether or not this is legal doesn't matter; they'll find a reason to put you behind bars. And, if that doesn't work, then someday I'll find you, and you'll end up in the morgue, with a death ruled as a heart attack."

The guys stared at her, gaping, and breathing hard.

"You're a fucking bitch." The guy on the ground breathed, and moved to stand.

"The biggest of them all. So do we have a deal, or what?" Yurei asked.

The guy looked between Yurei and the other two men, as if silently debating his options, and looked at Ochaco again.

She was by the door, quietly watching.

"... fine. You're not worth it. You're fucking ugly, anyway." The blue-haired guy spat.

"Good. Let's go." Yurei said, turning to Ochaco, and saw Ochaco's eyes widen, but heard her too late.

Pain erupted in her abdomen.

She phased and moved away, holding her stomach.

The blue-haired guy smirked, holding a bloody blade.

"Don't come back here, you fucking cunt."

"Yu-" Yurei covered Ochaco's mouth before she could say her name, and opened the door to leave.

They quickly left, and when they were on the first floor, Yurei untied her jacket and put it on, covering the bleeding wound.

Her mind raced.

She tried to keep pressure on it, and think of everything she knew about stab wounds. The blade used wasn't that big, only a few inches long, and she was pretty sure that he missed vital organs. She'd accidentally been stabbed by Ikari's quirk multiple times since they were kids- this wasn't so bad.

"What do we do?!" Ochaco asked, and followed her outside. Yurei hurried down the sidewalk, going a different direction than they came, and tried to be discreet with her injury. Luckily, the people who were walking around were minimal, and the ones that were around didn't seem to care.

They ducked into an empty ally, and Yurei tried to think of a plan. She was a lot better at this when it was the other person injured.

"We'll get this cleaned up, go back to school, pretend like you accidentally stabbed me during sparring practice." Yurei said.

"No one would believe that!" Ochaco told her.

Yurei recast her quirk on her.

"Katsuki and I train with knives all the time. I got overconfident in showing you a move." Yurei said.

"We'll get in trouble for fighting-"

"We were practicing moves from class."

"Still."

"... the stab wound isn't that bad, but we need to stop the bleeding. For now we'll just plan on not telling anyone." Yurei said, and described the supplies that Ochaco needed to get at the store.

6.

May 9th, Tuesday, 3:00 PM

They got to the school just as it was ending.

Students flooded out.

Katsuki and Eijirou hung back near the school campus entrance gates. When the students were coming out, they went in.

They went by a patch of trees, lingering, and watching for that purple-haired freak.

Katsuki's eyes scanned the flood of students like a net at sea, missing nothing. He took in everything, observing their dumb mannerisms and searching for that face that tried to kill him.

By the time they saw him, the herd had started thinning out. Hogaru was alone, which made things easier for them.

Katsuki and Eijirou moved, easily plucking the twerp from the crowd and getting him to the sidelines, out of sight from the others. He didn't put up a resistance.

Katsuki pushed him roughly, causing him to fall, and the pissed explosion specialist refrained from taking off his hood, on the chance that cameras were within range.

Even without seeing his face, the kid knew.

He trembled and shook, crying pathetically, and then dug into his backpack.

"You're going to pay for what you did. If you thought beating you when we were kids was rough-" Katsuki spoke, then, froze when he saw the gun.

Outside of the H.T.S. raid, he'd never had a gun pulled on him. Only knives.

"Woah, hey, kid, calm down. If that goes off you're going to get in a lot of trouble. Just take a deep breath and calm down." Eijirou told him, his quirk activated.

"No! He-he's the devil! He never dies! He's not going to stop coming after me! Every night… crawling in my room, biting me,"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Katsuki asked, and thought about that guy's head exploding in that helmet.

"You keep coming after me, day and night, lying and scheming, ever since we were kids, and I'm sick of it!"

"I think you need some help, kid. Katsuki has never been to your room. Just take some deep-" Eijirou spoke, but was cut off by the deafening sound of the gun firing.

Pain erupted in Katsuki's left leg.

He gasped for breath, feeling searing hot pain, and fell to the ground as Eijirou wrestled the gun from him. Another shot went off.

Katsuki lay there stunned, too shocked to move or make a rational decision.

7.

May 9th, Tuesday, 3:05 PM

"Took you long enough." Yurei muttered when Ochaco returned with the supplies.

"I got everything you asked for." Ochaco said.

"Good. Now get some gloves on, and-" Yurei spoke, but then felt her phone vibrate.

She wiped her bloody hand on her skirt, pulled out her phone, and cursed.

Aizawa.

_Fuck._

"Answer it. Say I'm in the bathroom." Yurei instructed.

Ochaco took the bloody phone, and put it on speaker phone.

"Hey Aizawa, this is Uraraka. Yurei is in the bathroom. She accidentally left her phone behind." Ochaco said in a casual, upbeat voice.

"Bakugou was shot. He's being sent to Yosh Hana Hospital. I'm on my way there right now." Aizawa said.

"How did he get shot? Is he okay?" Ochaco asked.

"He was hit in the leg, I don't know anything else. When Yurei gets back from the bathroom, tell her to call me."

"I'll pass along the message." Ochaco said, and he hung up.

"Fucking moron." Yurei grit, feeling her heart rate go up again. She put the phone back in her pocket. "Use hand sanitizer and put a pair of gloves on."

She guided Ochaco through the process, and tried to pretend like she wasn't the patient. Looking at her bloody hands kept making her think of her father.

8.

May 9th, Tuesday, 3:30 PM

Eijirou was shaking as he sat in the waiting room.

The teachers hadn't gotten there yet. He was pretty sure that they were stuck in traffic.

His hands were covered in Katsuki's blood.

He never considered that the kid would pull a gun on him. That shit only happens in America. It wasn't completely unheard of here, but… it wasn't as common.

The waiting room was so quiet.

The ambulance had been so loud.

His phone started to ring, and he pulled it out. He let out a sigh of relief; Yurei would be pissed, but she could keep a cool head.

"Hey." He greeted as he answered.

"What the fuck happened?" Yurei asked.

"Katsuki wanted to get revenge on that kid that threw him in the hole. That kid was psycho; he thought Katsuki was sneaking into his room every night, stalking him everywhere, that he was some kind of devil- he pulled a gun on us. Katsuki was shot in the leg. They said it was a clean shot, or something. Went right through, no bullet to get out." Eijirou explained quickly.

"... at least he's safe. You two could have had better timing." Yurei said.

"What do you mean?" Eijirou asked.

"I got stabbed. It's not too bad, but bad enough that I need to rest. If I don't see Katsuki at the hospital, then I look suspicious." Yurei said, and Eijirou had no words for that.

His mind went numb.

"What do you- how? Why? I thought you were at the dorms?"

"And I thought you and Katsuki were just going for a walk?"

Eijirou cursed and ran a hand through his hair. Now that he was listening, he noticed the shakiness in her breathing.

"You should go back to the dorms and rest. It'll be a few hours, at least, until Katsuki is allowed to have visitors." Eijirou said.

"We cleaned up the wound and I changed clothes. We're actually pretty close to the hospital. I just have to get all this crap off of my face." Yurei said.

"You should go home and rest. What the hell happened, anyway?" Eijirou asked in a low voice.

"Long story." Yurei said simply.

9.

May 9th, Tuesday, 3:40 PM

After her conversation with Eijirou, she debated going back to the dorms.

She'd changed clothes, now wearing jeans and her black jacket. Her hands had been washed off. Most of her make up wiped off. Her bloody skirt and shirt tucked away in her back pack.

Ochaco was panicking.

Yurei felt lightheaded.

"We're closer to the hospital than the dorms." Yurei pointed out.

Ochaco was beginning to hyperventilate.

"It'll be okay, Ochaco. We didn't do anything illegal. If this doesn't work, if the video gets leaked, then we'll have a case against him. I know it sucks but by the looks of it, he's been doing this to other girls. If we have to go after him, I'm sure that your lawyer will be able to make a big case against him. He'll go to prison for something. He won't be able to hurt other girls." Yurei said, but she kept sobbing.

Ochaco needed to get that out.

No matter they did, Ochaco needed to get that out of her system.

10.

May 9th, Tuesday, 4:30 PM

Over an hour had gone by since Katsuki was shot.

Eijirou couldn't bring himself to leave yet. He wanted to see him, first. Make sure their stories were straight.

The teachers sat nearby, and sometimes offered snacks or sodas. Of the three, All Might seemed the most upset. Eijirou wasn't sure if that was because of Katsuki or his own injuries making him look sullen.

Something had happened between All Might, Katsuki, and Deku in Fall term.

Eijirou had lost count of all the fights he and Katsuki had gotten into over the years, and the injuries they suffered together. He'd always been determined to stay by Katsuki's side, no matter what.

_Am I keeping him alive, or just enabling him?_ Eijirou wondered darkly. No matter what he did, what he said, Katsuki never listened to his advice to quit. To find a healthier way to deal with his stress.

But Eijirou always went with him, anyway, rationalizing that if Katsuki went alone, he could get killed. He needed back up.

If Eijirou was honest… he knew that he loved the crazy shit that Katsuki's big mouth got them into. It was as if his brain was wired to say things in the most offensive way possible.

This last term and a half… Eijirou just realized that they had only gone out fighting once. Normally, they went once every few weeks. Eijirou hadn't even thought about it. He was more distracted with Mina and school.

They were going to school to become heroes. They weren't kids anymore.

No matter how exhilarating it was, how exciting, how thrilling… they had to stop. This wasn't sustainable. They were one crazy guy away from ending up in a grave.

When he heard sniffles from the door, he looked up, and was surprised when Ochaco and Yurei walked in. Yurei's arm was around Ochaco's crying form, and they walked over to the two empty seats next to Eijirou and furthest from the teachers.

"What happened to Ochaco?" Eijirou asked.

"Deku cheated on her." Yurei answered, loud enough for the teachers to hear, as Ochaco kept crying.

As Yurei reclined in her seat, he saw her jaw tense slightly. The signs were subtle, and if he wasn't looking, he wouldn't know she was in pain.

"Kasai." Aizawa said, causing them to look up into his serious expression. "Can I talk to you outside?"

Yurei had a look of panic for a moment, Ochaco looking absolutely horrified, and Yurei nodded as she stood, following him out.

As they walked away, he saw Yurei's bloody shoes.

_Shit._

He wished that whatever the hell they had done, they had asked him to go with them. They were terrible liars.

Hopefully they had a good cover story planned.

11.

May 9th, Tuesday, 4:35 PM

Yurei tried to calm herself down as she went outside with her teacher. They went over to an unoccupied section of a wall, where there was little traffic.

"Why did you have Eijirou lie to the police?" Aizawa asked, and her eyes went wide in alarm.

"W-what do you mean?" Yurei asked.

"Your shoes. They're drying at the same rate as Eijirou's, which means that you were there when Bakugou was shot." Aizawa said, and she gave a dry chuckle.

She looked down at her bloody shoes.

That had been a big oversight. _Fucking, damn it, shit._

"Either tell me what's going on or you're expelled on the spot." Aizawa said.

She looked up at his face, so stern and serious, and could sense his anger, hurt and frustration.

"It's not Katsuki's blood." Yurei said.

Lying and having him find out the truth later would be worse than telling the truth now. Ochaco was definitely going to crack, and Yurei didn't have the energy to lie. She just didn't. She lost too much blood.

"Then whose blood is it?"

"Mine." Yurei answered, and by the way that his face scrunched up more, she guessed that he didn't believe her. "Can you promise to be discreet, if I tell you?"

"You're lucky to not be expelled yet." Aizawa said, and she flinched at the harshness in his words.

He was upset.

"We didn't do anything illegal or against school policy. Someone was blackmailing Ochaco, and she wanted me to go with her as back up to confront him. We asked him to leave her alone, and on our way out, he stabbed me. Ochaco is terrified of people finding out, so we tried to be quiet about it." Yurei said.

Aizawa cursed under his breath as he turned away.

"Police are busy with other crimes, the school is busy with other things… even if we went to you or another teacher, not much would have been done. Your hands would have been tied. When I tried to talk Ochaco into talking to a teacher anyway… she wouldn't listen. She was scared. And I planned to contact a friend in law enforcement to leave a tip about the guy, so-" Yurei explained.

"How bad is your injury?" Aizawa interrupted. He didn't look at her.

"... we stopped the bleeding. Cleaned it up. It didn't hit any major organs." Yurei answered softly, and realized that she was crying.

She wiped her tears with her sleeve.

Her stomach hurt.

"What was the blackmail?" Aizawa asked.

"Ochaco had a one night stand. The creep recorded it without her consent." Yurei said.

"The type of case that would go to the H.T.S." Aizawa said in a low voice, then asked, "Was it consensual? Her one night stand."

"Yeah. She was upset over Deku cheating on her. She went on a hookup site." Yurei answered.

He didn't say anything for a while.

The longer he stood there, staring off into the distance, the shittier she felt.

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve again, wishing that she could control herself better. She was just fucking up all over the place.

She hoped that she and Ochaco wouldn't get expelled over this. She hoped that Ochaco would forgive her for talking to a teacher.

"You said that you were going to tip off law enforcement?" Aizawa asked.

"... w-with situations like this, where a victim doesn't want to come forward, I'll give police a tip about the abuser. They watch them for a while, see if they can find other victims. If they need my victim to come forward, I try to convince them to come forward, and usually that works. They eventually come forward with enough time and attention. Sometimes just knowing who to look at is enough for law enforcement to get someone in trouble for their crimes, saving the victim from having to publicly ruin their life." Yurei explained, and he slowly nodded.

"Did your dad teach you that?" Aizawa asked, and she nodded.

"I used to take Ikari with me, though. He was a big enough dude that people didn't even think of trying to hurt me. I was stupid this time. I guess I was tired, because I didn't seem him coming." Yurei explained shakily, and he slowly nodded.

"I'll talk to you more about this later. For now, just go inside and and rest. I'm going to talk to Uraraka next." Aizawa said, and she nodded.

When they got back inside, her eyes locked with Ochoco's terrified ones.

"S-sorry." Yurei muttered as she returned to her previous seat with a groan.

"Uraraka, can I speak to you outside?" Aizawa requested.

Ochaco looked up with big, watery eyes, and stiffly nodded.

She was terrified.

They should have gone back to the dorms.

Ochaco jerkily stood, and followed him outside.

"The shoes were a rookie mistake. How bad was it?" Eijirou asked in a low voice.

"I don't think I'm expelled." Yurei said in a low voice, and took some deep breaths.

"You should drink some water. You look really pale." Eijirou whispered.

She pulled out the water bottle from her backpack and started to chug it.

12.

May 9th, Tuesday, 4:45 PM

Aizawa couldn't help but feel bad for the young woman as they went outside. Uraraka's face was still red from all the tears, her breathing was erratic, and body hunched over.

"Kasai told me what happened. What you did was extremely reckless." Aizawa said, and a fresh wave of tears came forward. "Not only did you endanger your life by meeting with him the first time, but you endangered Kasai when you involved her. She could have died."

As he continued lecturing her, he wished that he didn't have to, but Uraraka needed to hear this. She needed to realize just how dangerous what she did was.

"Meeting strangers from online is extremely dangerous. He could have killed you. He could have done anything, and we couldn't have helped or saved you. There are a lot of dangerous people on the Internet."

She kept crying.

He had to keep going. Drive the point home.

"... I know that it sometimes feels like people are invulnerable, especially with people like Kasai, but you need to remember that she's your age. She might be strong, but she's also suffered significant loss recently. She's recovering from countless injuries, her father dying, her boyfriend is in the hospital for the second time this term. You're both lucky that something worse didn't happen to you. You need to be smarter." Aizawa went on.

Uraraka kept crying.

"P-please don't get Y-Yurei in t-trouble. It wasn't her f-fault." Uraraka stuttered.

13.

May 9th, Tuesday, 4:55 PM

"She's been out there for a while." Eijirou commented.

"It's only been ten minutes." Yurei said, and sighed.

She sent a text to her law enforcement contact. He dealt with stuff like this a lot. She gave a name and address, with only a short description.

After she sent the text, she realized that her left hand was wet.

Discreetly, she looked at her hand, and saw blood.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Yurei said in a low voice, grabbed her bag, and went to the restroom. She went straight to one of her stalls, closing the door behind her, and hung the bag on the small hook. She grabbed some toilet paper to dry off her bloody hand, and then took her jacket off, revealing her green shirt with a bloody spot.

She got more toilet paper to dab at the blood beginning to drip onto the top of her jeans, and got to work replacing the bandage. She had to use a lot of paper towels to keep from leaving blood behind.

Once she was close to finished rebandaging, her phone started to vibrate, and she cursed softly. She wiped off her hand again, reached for the phone in her jacket pocket, and realized that there was blood on it.

"Hey Bozo, what's up?" Yurei asked through clenched teeth, trying to seem casual, but failing. She just wanted to curl up in bed and not move.

Shifting, she sat down on the toilet seat.

"I'm going to need you and your friend to come in for questioning." Detective Benzo said.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

"The name and address belongs to someone suspected of multiple homicides, sexual assaults, drug dealing, and a number of other things. He's been more bold recently. We think he might have a secret quirk; every time someone reads a message he wrote, they feel compelled to do anything he tells them to." Benzo explained.

"Are you fucking serious?" Yurei asked

"You haven't been near him, have you?" Benzo asked.

"... yeah, I went to his place and threatened him. I wanted him to leave my friend alone." Yurei said.

"Where are you now?"

"The hospital. My boyfriend got shot, so I'm waiting to see him." Yurei answered.

"Where's your friend?" Benzo asked.

"Outside, talking to our teacher about the guy. I'd planned to keep it more discreet, but… I'm a shit liar." Yurei said, and Benzo chuckled on the other end.

"I'll need you and your friend to come in for questioning. Also, make sure that your friend turns off their phone and doesn't read any message. They'll need to give it to us as evidence." Benzo said.

"... how serious is this?" Yurei asked.

"Pretty serious, unfortunately. You know that I wouldn't call you in unless it was necessary." Benzo said.

"Do you have my teacher, Aizawa's, number? You should coordinate with him. He made me promise to go through him with stuff like this." Yurei said.

"Sure. I'll give him a call. I'll need to talk to your friend as soon as possible." Benzo said.

"Alright, see you soon." Yurei said, and hung up.

She hit the wall.

She couldn't get a fucking break.

She finished up, making sure that all evidence was flushed or covered up.

When she left, Aizawa and Ochaco were just getting back.

"You're going to get a call from Detective Benzo soon. Ochaco, hand me your phone." Yurei instructed.

"Wh-why?" Ochaco stuttered.

"Just do it." Yurei ordered tiredly. When Ochaco handed it to her, she made sure to keep the screen down, and turned it off. Once she felt a soft vibration, indicating that it had been turned off, she flipped it over to confirm the black screen. Then, she handed it to Aizawa.

"Wh-what's going on?" Ochaco asked.

Aizawa's phone started ringing.

"The beginning of a very, very long day." Yurei said, and both Nezu and All Might came over to them.

"What's going on?" Nezu asked.

"A bad week that can only get worse." Yurei said tiredly.

14.

May 9th, Tuesday, 9:00 PM

Almost four hours went by, and they were still at the station.

Aizawa and Kasai were in the waiting area, waiting for Uraraka to finish giving her testimony. Their school lawyer was with her, making sure that she didn't accidentally say anything incriminating about herself or the school.

Every so often, Aizawa would glance Kasai's way, making sure that she didn't pass out.

She was reclined in her spot, hands in her jacket pockets, and head hung back, breathing slowly. Every so often her eyes would drift open, slowly blink a few times, and close again. There was a small smear of blood peeking from beneath the collar of her jacket.

He was both impressed and concerned about her. She was running herself ragged, pushing herself too far, and today that could have gotten her killed.

She reminded him of himself most days. Working in the shadows to keep people safe, and using her connections to protect them. When he was going to school, he would quietly listen and observe, watching as people got hurt. It wasn't until college when he started learning resources to take care of them.

Kasai seemed to learn at a young age what to do in emergency situations like this. She seemed at ease with the process, and he'd underestimated just how connected she was. Her parents had taught her well.

He saw their teachings in the way that she interacted with people that night, when Bakugou had gone missing. She talked to people like a trained professional from H.T.S., unfazed by their language and even able to speak it. She was able to shift between the hero world, normal world, and streets without missing a beat.

Her father's death was taking its toll on her, though. She was coming apart at the seams.

He didn't want to see her get hurt, and with her newly worsened fear of doctors, there was more risk. She needed to let herself rest.

As her phone vibrated in her pocket, she took a deep breath, and pulled it out, not moving her head.

"Yeah?" Kasai spoke, and paused, listening to whoever was on the other end. She smiled. "I could say the same to that idiot. If I'd been there, that idiot wouldn't have gotten shot. If that idiot had pressed charges, he wouldn't have been shot. That was entirely his fault."

Despite the harshness in her words, she was smiling, and straightened her posture, wincing as she did so.

Aizawa could hear the loud voice of Bakugou on the other end, and Kasai pulled the device away from her ear.

"Stop yelling, moron." Yurei told him.

Aizawa thought about Yurei's change in fighting style over the last few months, and recalled All Might's commentary on it. Apparently, she'd been challenging herself to be solid more often, partially as a result of training with Bakugou in her free time.

She was picking up bad habits from him. Becoming more reckless.

"Whatever, loser. You got your ass kicked twice by a high school psychopath." Kasai said, and sighed. "Fair point. Next time, I'll bring you with me, but you need to stop doing stupid shit like this…. No, they're not the same. You had a perfect case to bring forward against that freak and you didn't do it because of some stupid revenge plot. You would straight up be dead if it wasn't for Eijirou, so you better thank his ass for saving your stupid life."

… _if she can get Bakugou more stable, that could keep him from straying from the hero path._

Aizawa couldn't understand why people dated people that are obviously bad for them. He'd seen countless good students stray from their studies, or in rare cases get killed, because of their poor choice in partners.

"Katsuki, by the time I get there, visiting hours will be over, and I need to study for our test tomorrow. I'm going to have to cram tonight." Kasai said, and sighed. "... I can't skip curfew, Katsuki. I know that you're freaked out, but I'm exhausted. I'll see you tomorrow."

She hung up, and sighed, hanging her head back again.

"How's Bakugou doing?" Aizawa asked.

"Scared. He's lashing out. I'm the only one that can calm him down." Kasai said, and sighed again. "Any tips on the exam in tomorrow's class?"

"Have you kept up with the reading assignments?" Aizawa asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you'll be fine. Just review it when you get back to the dorms." Aizawa said, and she looked over, in the general direction of her classmate being interviewed. "You okay?"

"I can sense Ochaco. She's upset." Kasai said.

"That must be hard, being able to feel what other people feel, in situations like this." Aizawa commented.

"Yeah. It's pretty nice with Katsuki, though." Kasai said.

"How so?" Aizawa asked.

"He's one of the most depressed and anxious people I've ever met. When our classmates are feeling frustrated, I can stand next to Katsuki and not even sense them. His depression is loud enough to block out the feelings of others around us. It's pretty nice on some days. When I first started at UA it was pretty obnoxious, but then I got used to it. His depression was actually getting a lot better... up until his parents announced they were gay and getting a divorce. " Kasai explained.

The main door opened, and Aizawa looked up, surprised to see Bakugou's mother walk in. He would have thought that she would be at the hospital with her son.

Her eyes locked with Kasai, narrowing into slits, and Aizawa immediately stood between them.

"What are you doing here, Mrs. Bakugou?" Aizawa asked in a calm voice.

"I was told that you were here, and that you decide whether the school will press charges against the boy who shot my son." Mrs. Bakugou said.

"The boy who shot him has been put into custody. From what I've heard, he has a very serious mental disorder, and I'll be meeting with his school representatives tomorrow." Aizawa said.

"I want that man to rot for what he did to my son!" Mrs. Bakugou shouted.

"Your son isn't completely innocent, Mrs. Bakugou. He was the one who went to the boy's school to confront him about what happened the other week. Since Bakugou was at the other boy's school, it would be easy for them to argue self defense against Bakugou. Regardless of what happens, the boy will face consequences for firing a weapon he didn't have a licence for." Aizawa explained calmly.

"My son could have died, and you're taking that boy's side!?" Mrs. Bakugou yelled, and continued ranting at him.

Angry parents were probably the least favorite part of Aizawa's job.

15.

May 9th, Tuesday, 9:00 PM

After the call, Katsuki glared at the window, wishing that Yurei would get her ass over there.

Eijirou took the phone from his hand, and Katsuki glared up at him as he sat down again.

Katsuki was tired of being in the fucking hospital.

"This is the last time I do stupid shit with you, bro." Eijirou said, and Katsuki looked up at him, confused. "I texted Deku, asking if he'd ever heard of Tonishi Hogaru. I checked out his social media, and I don't think you'd even met him before, Katsuki. The kid probably saw you on TV and decided you were a demon. You should have just pressed charges."

Katsuki paused, blinking at him.

… Katsuki had beat up a lot of people in his day, but the one time someone successfully gets payback… it wasn't even someone he beat up? It was some random loser he'd never even met?

"Have you realized that, since we started dating Mina and Yurei, we stopped going to fights?" Eijirou asked.

"We haven't had time, and curfew has been getting stricter. Sneaking out is harder." Katsuki pointed out.

"We could find time if we really wanted to. It never affected us in the past." Eijirou said with a shrug.

"So what are you saying, shitty hair?"

"We don't need to do that anymore. We have better ways of handling things, and the stakes are a lot higher, now."

"So, what- next time shit comes up, you're not going to be my back up?" Katsuki asked.

"If I think you're going to do something stupid like that again, I'm calling security on you. I'd rather you get a few days suspension than dead. I mean, shit, you don't need to waste your time on dumb fights when you have real ones, Katsuki. If you hadn't been wasting your time with this shit we could have helped Ochaco and Yurei." Eijirou said, and Katsuki flinched at the last part.

She got stabbed.

She was at the police station, giving a statement or some shit. He wished that he had more information on that, like who the fuck did it so he could beat them up, but he couldn't exactly force her to give up information on the phone.

"I overheard some of their conversation. Apparently the guy they dealt with was scary shit. Killed a bunch of people." Eijirou said.

Katsuki's hands clenched, gripping the sheets tightly. He wished that she was there with him, so that he could make sure she was okay. Safe.

He wanted to kill whoever got her hurt. He wanted to yell at her for being reckless.

"We're not kids anymore. We need to grow up. Get better, dude." Eijirou said, and stood up, leaving the room.

Katsuki was left to his thoughts, thinking about his friend's words.

He had missed doing those fights, unlike Eijirou. He'd felt his reflexes slipping. He was becoming soft. Stronger in muscle, but weaker in reactive hits. Even Yurei sometimes got some lucky hits.

Not challenging himself in those fights were causing him to slow down and become weaker. Those fights were valuable training sessions for him, and he learned things that he simply couldn't at school.

Those fights weren't about training for Eijirou, though. He saw their adventures as fun, exciting, and dangerous. Eijirou went for the thrill, while Katsuki went to get stronger and vent some steam.

… Eijirou not being by his side anymore… that was a heavy loss for him.

Katsuki couldn't imagine going without him.

15.

May 9th, Tuesday, 9:45 PM

Yurei sighed outside the station, breathing in the fresh air.

Mrs. Bakugou was still pissed and yelling at Aizawa inside. She felt bad for leaving him alone with her, but she didn't need to be there, and frankly, she didn't want to be.

Since she couldn't leave, she rested against the wall outside, tiredly staring off into space.

The cool air felt nice on her face. She'd been a bit light-headed for the last few hours, but she'd eaten enough food to be stable. Her abdomen still hurt, but was manageable. They already took pictures of her wound and got a statement.

Ochaco's was taking forever.

As she stood there, she heard a group approaching, and looked up.

It was a group of five men, either in their late twenties or early thirties, with cigarettes hanging from their lips. They all looked her up and down, sneering at her, and she could unfortunately sense their emotions.

"What are you doing out here alone, princess?" One of them sneered.

"I'm literally at a police station. Keep on walking." Yurei told them.

They shared a glance with each other, muttering options, and seemed to debate attacking her right there. It was late enough that they could potentially get away with it. The lights here were poor and she doubted the cameras watching them were high quality. Most of the officers and detectives had already left for the day, too.

While they were discussing their options, she pulled her phone out and took a picture of them. They all stopped to look at her.

"Keep on walking, losers." Yurei told them as she pocketed her phone again.

"You think you can talk to us like that?" One of them asked.

"I have a hero license. If you attack me, I can and will use my quirk against you." Yurei said, and that seemed to intimidate them.

The group walked off, going around her, and went back on their merry way.

She watched as they went down an alley about half a block away, and sighed, going back to staring off into space.

Then, she heard screams.

Yurei ran towards the sound, staying phased just in case, and went to the alley.

She froze in place, staying phased, and watched as the last guy fell.

A dark figure stood there, wielding blades.

He turned, seeing her, and paused.

Then, he ran.

She looked at the men on the ground.

There was a lot of blood. The space was eerily still, eerily silent, and Yurei couldn't bring herself to move.

So much blood. It coated the walls, dripping to the ground, towards the corpses that lay unmoving on the ground. Their brains ceased to function, one by one.

All that was left was the pounding of her heart in her ears.

"What the hell?" Yurei muttered, and then ran to the station, telling them what she saw.


	22. Chapter 21

**Author's Note(present day):** Alright, so, I almost did a dumb thing. I almost posted the wrong chapter (22, instead of 21). But, I skimmed this, and realized there's a lot of serious topics and Ochaco has a very, very bad day. There's a scene in the next chapter- involving paintball- which I LOVE and it involves Yurei being a bad ass. So, I decided to post both chapters. ^^

**Author's Note (from when I wrote this):** *So*, while writing this, I realized that I was accidentally referencing a scene from the fanfic I wrote before this. Specifically, a fight between Bakugou and my OC which resulted in a public, giant ass explosion. I'm pretty sure that I took out all the references to it, but if I accidentally left in a part referencing it, that's why.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

_Decisions_

May 10th, Wednesday, 10:20 AM

She'd been staring at the page for twenty minutes.

All she wrote down was her name.

She kept thinking about all that blood. Those bodies.

How quickly, and how randomly, they'd been killed.

The police officers on the scene said that there was a turf war going on. The killing description matched the MO of the rival gang, apparently.

She couldn't stop thinking about it.

No matter how many times she read the first question, she couldn't register the words. They were gibberish.

The room felt too quiet. She glanced around, seeing that her classmates were having no problem with the test. Even Katsuki showed up, grumpy and growling, with a cast on his leg. He'd been determined to not miss this exam. It was a large portion of their grade.

… she couldn't read it.

It just looked like a bunch of tiny lines to her.

Even after Ikari attacked her, just days afterwards, she went back to school to complete her exams. She hadn't felt so… jumbled.

She looked at the clock again.

10:30.

She looked back down at the exam.

… all she'd written was her name.

She thought about bullshitting her way through the answers, to maybe look at keywords and guess, but she couldn't even do that.

_I've seen people die before. Why did those men last night affect me so much?_

She'd been less shocked when she learned about her father's death.

Less shocked when she saw the spike go through Sunshine's head. Less shocked when she fell out of the wall, stumbled to the ground, and thought she was going to die.

10:40.

… this wasn't going to happen.

She took her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, and then grabbed her test, and walked over to the front of the room. She felt the startled reactions of her peers as she walked, some of them probably wondering why she finished so early.

Aizawa looked up at her, bundled up in his coat, with an expression she didn't recognize.

She set the test in front of him.

He looked at the empty page, and then looked up at her.

"I can't read it." Yurei told him in a low voice.

He stared at her for a moment, silent. Thinking.

"Go home and rest. I'll text you later about another time to make up the test." Aizawa said in a low voice.

… the words jumbled not long after they left his mouth.

She blinked at him for a moment, trying to remember what he said.

"Kasai?" He spoke.

"... bye." Yurei said in a low voice, and walked out of the room, in a strange daze.

1.

May 10th, Wednesday, 8:00 PM

That night, her dorm mates did a movie night, to help destress from all the exams.

Yurei sat on the couch next to Katsuki, his arm comfortingly around her, and her body leaning against his side. She didn't really register much of the movie.

Aliens. Beavers. Something.

She just closed her eyes, leaning against Katsuki, and focused on his heartbeat.

2.

May 11th, Thursday, 8:00 PM

The next night, Yurei sat with Mina on the couch, letting her brush and play with her hair. Katsuki sat in front of her.

"How have you been doing on your tests, Yurei?" Mina asked.

"Probably bombed them. At least I was able to finish them today." Yurei said, and tried to muster enthusiasm or any emotion into her words, but couldn't.

"I'm sure you did fine. You're a lot better at test taking than I am." Mina said behind her, and hummed. "Oh! When are you dancing with your mom this week? I'm sure that's going to be a lot of fun."

"Mom canceled." Yurei answered.

"What? Why!? I thought you both were looking forward to that!?" Mina exclaimed.

Yurei shrugged.

"She said that she was feeling too down to go out. She had planned to stop by the dorms tonight, since she doesn't want me to see the house, but… she canceled that, too. My aunt texted saying that my mom has been feeling really down recently." Yurei said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Yu Yu." Mina said, and Yurei shrugged.

"It's okay." Yurei said.

"Maybe you could tell her that you've been feeling down, too, and want to see her? Maybe if she knows that you're having a hard time, too, she'll feel better?" Mina suggested awkwardly. She was trying to be optimistic.

"Aizawa called her the other day to let her know that I saw a bunch of guys get murdered. Pretty sure that that's what set off her depression." Yurei said.

"But she's your mom… why doesn't she want to be there for you? I don't get that." Mina said.

"My mom means well, she just… can't do a lot of things, because of her anxiety. My dad was the one that kept her balanced and going. She hasn't gone to work since he died." Yurei explained.

"... I don't know how to ask this, but… you've seen people die before, and you've never seemed quite this… down. What was so different? Was it really that bad?" Mina asked.

She knew that Katsuki had been curious, too, but had been refraining from asking the question directly.

"I'm not sure why it was so different. It just was. It just it just felt so random. One second a bunch of weirdos were calling me names, the next, they were dead in an alley. There was a lot of blood." Yurei said, and avoided Katsuki's eyes when he looked up at her. He'd been reading one of his textbooks. "It just… I don't know. Maybe it's because I didn't know who the person was that killed them. With all the other times I knew who the enemy was, the situation… with this… I knew nothing."

Mina pulled her back, making Yurei lean back into her arms in a big hug.

"How's your leg?" Yurei asked, looking up at Katsuki.

"I'll be out of the cast tomorrow." Katsuki answered.

"... that's good." Yurei nodded slowly.

"How's your stomach?" Katsuki asked.

"It's fine." She answered. There hadn't been any complications in her wound.

"How do I cheer you up, Yu Yu?" Mina asked.

"Just give me a few days." Yurei said.

3.

May 12th, Friday, 6:00 AM

"LIKE HELL I'M NOT FIGHTING!" Katsuki shouted the next morning.

All Might shifted into his bigger form, and roughly shoved Katsuki back into his seat. He'd even dressed up in his hero costume for their activities that day.

They were all gathered in the control room, where all the screens were, to hear the instructions for their class period.

"That's what happens when you get shot. You have to sit things out." All Might said, and Katsuki quietly seethed at him. "The rest of you will be doing an exercise similar to what you did fall term. You'll be paired off with another classmate and face off against a teacher."

"Crap." Denki muttered.

"You'll have half an hour to perform the test. Both partners must find three items in the environment, and then escape to the exit. The items are three of these golden balls." All Might said as he held up a gold, shining ball. It looked like a pool ball. "All of the balls need to get to the exit in one piece. They're strategically set up all over the environment you'll be sent to. The teacher knows where they are, but you don't."

Next to Yurei, Mina was on the verge of tears.

"If you fail this test, you'll have to do additional training to make up for it." All Might added.

"What the hell am I going to do?!" Katsuki asked.

"The additional training." All Might answered, and Katsuki's glare intensified.

"The pairings are as follows." Aizawa spoke, having a clipboard in his hands. "Kasai and Uraraka will be fighting me. Ashido and Iida…."

_I'm fighting Aizawa? I guess that makes sense._ Yurei thought as she tuned out the rest of the names.

This would be interesting. Aizawa would probably set up in one of the locations with the golden egg, waiting for her to get there, and then when she shows up, he uses his quirk to make her solid.

There was no way that she could win in a hand-to-hand fight with Aizawa, which meant that she had to find him first and knock him out. Once he was knocked out, they could find the eggs and make a run for it with Ochaco.

As she looked over at the brunette in question, she realized that Ochaco was staring off into space with a forlorn look on her face.

The other students were so nervous that she couldn't really discern her feelings, but she guessed they weren't good. Yurei had been so caught up in her own turmoil that she hadn't thought to ask Ochaco how she was doing.

Yurei knew better than just about anyone the hell she might be going through. Each person was different, though, so she wasn't sure how to help just yet. Mostly, though, Yurei was in such a weird headspace, that she was distancing herself from some people for now. She'd warned Christine that she wasn't feeling well, and that she wouldn't be able to help her as much with her anxiety problems.

As they paired off, talking animatedly about who they were chosen to fight, Yurei walked up to Ochaco and lightly punched her arm, flashing her a smile. "You ready to rock this?"

Ochaco blinked at her for a moment, not saying anything, and then nodded.

"Don't worry, I have an idea on how to go about it. It'll be pretty risky, though." Yurei laughed.

"Okay." Ochaco said with a nod.

"You okay?" Yurei asked.

Ochaco didn't answer.

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Katsuki shouted from his seat.

Yurei walked over to the steaming man, and tapped his nose, causing him to flinch and look up at her with a glare. "Chill. It's not the end of the world."

"Fuck off, you don't even like shit like this. I bet that you'd love to be in my position." Katsuki told her.

"I'm actually interested in the challenge. If I mess up around Aizawa, I'm screwed." Yurei said, and Katsuki grunted. "What if I make you sushi tonight? Will that make you feel better?"

"What kind of sushi?"

"The tiger one that you like. It feels like a sushi kind of day." Yurei replied, and he seemed to ponder it.

Then, she heard static in her right ear.

She patted her ear, and the sound went away.

After chatting with Katsuki for a while longer and calming him down, she then went with Ochaco to the exit.

Ochaco was pretty upset, but she kept an emotionless facade. She seemed… for lack of a better word, dead inside. Yurei felt nothing but dread from her, which set her on edge.

They were going to be bused to the training location from campus.

As Yurei sat next to Ochaco, she kept an eye on her.

Once they arrived at the location, which felt like an evacuated city after a natural disaster, Yurei told Ochaco her plan.

"I figure that Aizawa will have two methods he might use; hunt us down or wait in one of the rooms for me to show up. If he catches me, I'm toast. I know that I won't stand a chance with him. So, what I figure, is that we split up and search for the eggs." Yurei said.

"... isn't splitting up a bad idea?" Ochaco asked in a melancholy voice.

"Keep something floating near you with your quirk. If it falls, AKA Eraser Head found you, scream and I'll come to you. Hopefully I'll be able to find Eraser Head and knock him out with my quirk." Yurei said.

"So I'll be bait?" Ochaco asked.

"Kinda, but so will I. If he's in any room with the egg, it'll be easy for him to lock onto me and make me solid. Without my quirk I'll be pretty screwed." Yurei said.

"... so I'm just going to be bait." Ochaco said.

"Well, I can't take you with me. I haven't used my quirk with other people since-"

"It's fine." Ochaco said with a shake of her head.

"... if you find one of the eggs, grab it, hang onto it, and keep looking. I'll eventually find you. Hopefully we can grab all the eggs and make a run for the exit." Yurei said, and Ochaco solemnly nodded.

_I wonder if Aizawa knew that Ochaco's state would cancel out my emotions quirk._

"Alright," All Might spoke in their ear pieces. "The exam begins… now."

"Where should I search?" Ochaco asked.

"Look for the eggs outside, and I'll look inside the buildings. If you see Aizawa or he uses his quirk on you, scream, and I'll come get you." Yurei told her.

Ochaco nodded in understanding.

"... will you be okay? Do you want me to use my emotions quirk on you?"

"No. I'll be fine." Ochaco said, and turned, to start running down the street.

Yurei let out a tired sigh.

_Life is hard._

"Better get moving if you want to win, idiot." Katsuki told her in her earpiece.

"Are you going to be talking to me the entire time?" Yurei asked.

"Maybe. You're not the only idiot I'm watching right now. Mina is already screaming." Katsuki replied.

Yurei let out another tired sigh, and sunk into the ground, starting her search.

Every once in a while, as Yurei glided through buildings, searching for the eggs, she checked on Ochaco.

Ten minutes in, and no egg, nor teacher.

She went room by room in the buildings.

Nothing.

Then, she decided to check on her angsty partner, but was surprised to sense her on a roof. She was supposed to be checking outside the buildings.

She was cautious, going to a different building to watch her, and saw Aizawa watching Ochaco from the building across from her.

Yurei quickly sunk to the ground floor, went to the other building, got to Aizawa, and without revealing herself, reached up through his foot and knocked him out.

Feeling victorious, she then came up, looking around, but didn't see any eggs anywhere. She looked over at the building that Ochaco was on, and realized that she was on the top floor, at least eight stories up, about to jump.

"Ochaco! What are you doing?!" Yurei asked.

She jumped.

Yurei sped down the wall, to the ground, got herself to about where Ochaco would land.

She extended her arms and caught her, using her phasing quirk in her legs to sink, so that it would cause less stress on Yurei's body.

"What the hell? Is there a second quirk user here?" Yurei wondered as she looked around, and used her quirk to calm Ochaco down. She looked in the shadowed building windows, searching for another figure, when suddenly Ochaco started struggling in her arms.

"Let me go! Release your quirk!" Ochaco screamed and Yurei accidentally dropped her. "Stop controlling me! Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!"

Yurei put her hands up and released her quirk.

Ochaco gasped, gripping her chest, and started breathing hard as the emotions flooded back.

"Ochaco, just breathe. Focus on your-"

"SHUT UP! RELEASE YOUR QUIRK!" Ochaco screamed at her.

Yurei put a few more steps between them, with her hands up.

"I'm not using my of my quirks on you." Yurei said.

"STOP LYING! RELEASE YOUR QUIRK! STOP IT!" Ochaco screamed at her.

She sounded like Ikari that night, and a dark chill went down her spine.

"If I was using-"

"JUST STOP IT! STOP IT!" Ochaco screamed and charged at her. Yurei planned to side step her, pushing her out of the way, but then her body felt weird, weightless.

Ochaco grabbed her and spun her around, throwing her while using her gravity quirk, and Yurei went flying at a building.

She activated her quirk, going through the building, and paused on the other side.

_Shit, I accidentally released Eraser Head, too._

"JUST STOP IT!" Ochaco kept screaming from the middle of the street, holding her head and crying.

_What the fuck do I do? We have to leave here together._

Yurei tapped her earpiece.

"Hey, All Might? Ochaco is kind of freaking out right now. I mean I could use my quirk to knock her out and drag her and the eggs to the exit, and try to fight off Aizawa on my own… but considering Ochaco's problem right now, that could… you know… cause more damage." Yurei said, and watched as Ochaco's angry eyes locked with hers.

Ochaco ran at her, running into the building, and tried to hit her.

Yurei phased outside, and then, felt her body solidify.

_Guess it's two against one._

Yurei dodged as the wrappings came at her, running out of the way just in time. Ochoco ran out, intending to run at Yurei, and was instantly caught.

"MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! STOP IT! RELEASE YOUR QUIRK!" Ochaco screamed.

"_STOP CONTROLLING ME! STOP MAKING ME FEEL THIS WAY!" _Ikari's screams echoed in the back of her mind, rattling her.

Yurei bolted, going into one of the buildings, and barely avoided getting grabbed by one of Aizawa's bandages.

Once out of his line of sight, she fell into the floor, and went over to a different room, and tried to think of a new plan.

"Aw, shit. I'm going to lose." Yurei muttered, and groaned loudly.

She went up to the roof, and then looked down at Aizawa on the floor. He covered Ochaco's mouth so that she'd stop yelling.

This was a mess.

"What the fuck are you doing, Blue?" Katsuki asked her.

"I could use my quirks on Ochaco to get us out of this situation, but with her current mental state, I don't want to use my quirks on her. That could worsen her serious emotional trauma. If this was real I would risk it, but I don't want to risk Ochaco's emotional health over a test." Yurei said.

Then, Aizawa seemed to relax.

"Kasai, you're going to have a ten minute break with Uraraka to calm her down and figure out what's going on." All Might said in her ear, and Yurei watched as Aizawa released her.

Ochaco fell to the ground, crying and screaming at the top of her lungs, and holding her head. "**AAAAAAAAAAH! MAKE IT STOP**!"

Yurei sighed as she leaned against the wall, not wanting to get much closer to Ochaco. The screams shook her to the core, her emotional presence overwhelming, and Ochaco thought that Yurei was the source of her pain. That she caused it.

_Is this what eventually happens to people when I use my emotions quirk on them? They have a panic attack and blame me for it?_

Yurei turned her ear piece back on.

"Can Aizawa hear me through this?" Yurei asked.

"I just connected you two." All Might said.

"Aizawa, she's having a major panic attack and she thinks that I'm using my emotions quirk to cause it. Me being around her will just make it worse." Yurei told him.

Aizawa nodded, and then moved closer to Ochaco. Whatever he said was drowned out by her wails.

"Kasai, why did she jump off the building before? Was that part of your plan?" All Might asked.

"No. I just looked up and saw her falling, so I ran out and caught her." Yurei answered.

She hated seeing Ochaco in so much pain.

Aizawa took some measured steps back, giving her some space.

"We'll just give her some space for now." Aizawa told her over the earpiece, and then looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

"This is the second time someone has freaked out about my emotions quirk. That makes me a little worried." Yurei admitted.

"I don't think this has anything to do with you. I think it's just a delayed reaction to what happened a few days ago." Aizawa said.

A pit formed in her stomach, and she wondered if she'd made the right decision in going with her to that guy's apartment. Should she have been more insistent? Did Ochaco regret her decision? Should Yurei have stepped up and made the decision for her?

Could she have done literally anything to keep this from happening?

For about ten minutes, they watched her, waiting for her to calm down. She ended up curled up in a ball, crying and muttering to herself.

"Uraraka," Aizawa spoke, and kept his distance.

Ochaco suddenly sat up, as if realizing where she was, and looked around her wildly.

"It's okay. We paused the exam. How are you feeling?" Aizawa asked.

"... I feel like my head is going to explode." Ochaco said in a low voice.

"Do you think that you can finish the exam?" Aizawa asked, and she shook her head, letting out a sob. "Alright. I'll walk you back to the bus, okay?"

Ochaco nodded, and slowly pushed herself to her feet.

Yurei let out a tired sigh from the rooftop.

"Does this mean that I fail?" Yurei asked.

"Ha! You'll have to do training with me, loser." Katsuki said in her ear, and she groaned, leaning against the ledge.

"I really don't think Uraraka's state has anything to do with your quirk. I think she was just scared and lashing out. When one of the other teams finishes their exam, we'll have that bus swing by and pick you up." All Might told her.

"Can't I try to finish the exam on my own?" Yurei asked.

"Sorry. You have to complete the exam with your partner." All Might said.

She groaned again, putting more of her weight on the ledge, and slung her arms over it. She pressed the side of her face against the warm surface.

"Are you going to be okay, Kasai?" All Might asked.

"I'm just feeling whiney and grumbly. I'll be fine." Yurei said.

This wasn't the first time that she was paired up with someone and it didn't end well. Yurei should be able to work with anyone, regardless of their history, and put up a professional demeanor.

_So why do I suck?_

It can't just be everyone else. Ikari, Hana, Tenya, now Ochaco….

Why is it that all of her partners kept ending up this way? Was she really that bad? Was she being unprofessional? Did she need to change her attitude? How she did things?

She didn't really team up with people at her old school. They weren't nearly this intense with teamwork at her old school, either….

But then, she remembered before college.

No one has ever _liked_ working with her. Ever. They tolerated her until they had to leave. No matter how nice Yurei was during team work activities, the majority of people just didn't like working with her. When she asked them why that was, they said that they were intimidated by her.

She smiled. She laughed at their jokes. She made dumb jokes.

When it came to adults, she was fine. When it came to kids, she was fine. When it was people closer to her age, especially in school, there was always a disconnect.

_The only people I've legitimately worked well with was Ikari and Katsuki, and they both wanted to fuck me._

The thought caused a frown to tug at her lips.

With Katsuki, she knew that that wasn't _why_ he liked to work with her, but it still stung that that's what they had in common. When they paired up for the exercise last term, they made it them against everyone. Neither of them bothered to go out of their way to work with other people.

_But my old classmates were there._

_They said such terrible things. Unforgivable things._

_Do I need to suck it up and make amends with people? Even the ones that are so shitty?_

Yurei sat up, taking some deep breaths, and walked over to the exit.

Apparently, she needed to be better. She needed to forgive people. She needed to make amends. She needed to smile and act like nothing was wrong.

This couldn't keep happening. What if that had happened during a real life mission? What if someone got killed because they couldn't work with her?

4.

May 12th, Friday, 6:40 AM

Katsuki frowned as he stared at Yurei, ignoring the other matches taking place.

She looked so fucking dejected, and he couldn't blame her. She really could have passed that exam on her own. Ochaco completely screwed her over, and he had a suspicion that that was messing with her head.

Katsuki had gotten used to only working well with a select number of people. Most people hated working with him, since he overpowered them, and he hated working with them because they were so weak. Even though Katsuki had gotten used to that, Yurei hadn't. She had the same aura as when she bombed the Orion teamwork session.

Yurei had to put up with so much shit with people. When people got so drunk they couldn't walk, she was the one that got them to bed. She handed out water bottles during parties and made sure that everyone stayed hydrated. Whenever something happens, people go to her for advice, and she never lets them down.

But, sometimes she gets tired of taking people's shit, like with Hana, and people see that rather than everything else she puts up with.

She also just kept getting paired up with shit people. It didn't matter who Ochaco got paired up with that day, she was going to snap.

From what she told him about her teaming up with Tenya, Tenya was the one that acted weird the entire time, and got her marked down points.

Hana is the one that actively manipulates everyone around her with that dumb giggle and big, teary eyes.

"Why did you pair her up with Uraraka?" Katsuki asked All Might, who had been busy watching the screens. His prodige, Deku, was fighting with Cementoss. All Might was taking notes.

"Kasai is very good with people who have emotional traumas. We wanted to pair up Uraraka with someone who would be sensitive to that." All Might answered.

"So you wanted Blue to be her caretaker in the fight?" Katsuki asked.

"No, we honestly thought that Uraraka was stable enough to do this exam. Part of the reason that no one will lose points for losing is because of how intense this school year has been. We're giving everyone some leeway." All Might answered distractedly.

"That's unfair to Blue. You set her up to fail. You're setting a lot of them up to fail." Katsuki said.

"No one will learn if they're not challenged. These exams aren't impossible to pass, but they do require each student to work to their full potential. Sometimes people need to fail to succeed." All Might said, and Katsuki grit his teeth.

That was still unfair to Yurei. She never stood a chance because she'd been chosen a shitty partner.

Anyone, if they have a shitty partner, will fail.

"So what's the point of this? Make everyone work together to lose?" Katsuki asked.

"It's to force people to utilize each other and work together. No one can win unless they utilize each other's strengths." All Might said, still focusing on the fight.

_The last exam like this forced us to work together, too, but it wasn't this difficult. Forcing each person to get to the exit is bullshit._

Katsuki remembered the festival, and how Yurei only lost because some asshole tried to kill her.

To his slight amusement, Deku ended up losing with Cementoss. At least Yurei wouldn't be the only one to lose.

Not long afterwards, the doors opened behind them, and Katsuki turned and saw Yurei, Deku, and Denki walk in. As expected, Yurei looked pensive and forlorn.

"Oi, round face fucked you over. Don't read into it, idiot." Katsuki snapped. He missed the guilty expression on Deku's face.

"How do I not read into something like that?" Yurei replied, her hands in her pockets and slight frown tugging at her lips.

"Your quirk didn't do shit to her. You were given a shit partner." Katsuki told her.

"Four out of five of my partners for stuff like this in the last year have bombed. I'm doing something wrong." Yurei retorted.

"Are you including professional heroes, Kasai?" All Might inquired, causing her to pause. "Aizawa told me that he was extremely impressed when you two were searching for Bakugou together, and you have a lot of good references from America. When I talked to Goblin Green, with a translator, he said that you were a great hero to work with."

"Then why does this keep happening?" Yurei asked.

"Because they're not professionals yet. The people you've been paired with this year are still students, most of whom don't have nearly as much experience as you do. I think that if you want to improve, that's great, but also keep in mind that your colleagues are young, and that will affect how they perceive and work with you." All Might explained.

"Exactly. Fuck those guys." Katsuki added.

"Oi, _you_ need to learn better teamwork skills. You don't have an excuse." All Might said.

"I have great teamwork skills, everyone else is just weak and can't keep up." Katsuki said, and soon felt Yurei's hands in his hair. She leaned against the back of his chair, and while he looked up at her with a softening expression, she looked down at him with a serious one.

"You should listen to All Might. What he's talking about is the difference between being All Might, the number one hero everyone loves, and Endeavor, the hero that everyone begrudgingly accepts but hates." Yurei told him.

"I'm way cooler than Endeavor." Katsuki scoffed.

"Then act like it." Yurei said, he narrowed his eyes at her.

"How is Uraraka doing?" Deku asked.

"She'll be fine." All Might said simply.

5.

May 12th, Friday, 7:00 PM

That evening, something riled up Yurei. Katsuki wasn't sure what, but he liked it.

They ended up on his bed, with him sitting on the edge and her legs straddling him. With her lips latching onto his own, sometimes biting, and then moving to his neck.

His hands on her ass, eliciting the most delicious soft moans, pulling her chest closer to him. He'd bring his face between the mounds of flesh protected by her bra, nuzzling the space between them, and then gently nip and kiss at them.

She rocked her hips, and he groaned, wishing that there was less fabric between them. Just a few layers between her slick pussy and his hardening dick.

He wanted so badly to sink inside her, stretching those walls, and fill her.

But everything had to be at her pace. There were some things he could advance on, like slipping his hands beneath her pants, but he couldn't take them off. That had to be her.

When her bra fell off, he looked at those perky nipples, sending a jolt straight to his throbbing dick. Without hesitation he dove in, being gentle as he popped one of them into his mouth, and swirled the nub in his mouth.

She gripped his hair as she made a breathy moan. If they had their own house, he wondered what kind of amazing sounds she'd make.

As he kissed and groped at her marvelous breasts, he stumbled across one of the scars she feared so much. The slight change in texture was subtle, almost invisible in that lighting, and small.

Knowing what caused it, he clamped his mouth over it, sucking hard on the tender flesh.

She gasped against him, arching her back into him.

He hated the idea of anyone else touching her.

He made it his personal mission to find all of the stupid scars and replace them with marks of his own. _You're mine, not his._ He thought possessively with each bite.

_Mine._

She seemed to get off on it, too. Small gasps, breathy moans, arching against him, trying to get closer.

"W-we, uh… do you have a condom?" Yurei asked, and Katsuki looked up at her, at that messy hair and swollen lips. Her cheeks were so pink, eyes half lidded in lust, and he could see the want and need in those depths.

"You have to get naked, first." Katsuki said with a grin.

"Duh." Yurei said cutely.

Katsuki gripped her thighs and stood, carrying her, and laid her gently on his bed.

His hands shook slightly as he unbuttoned her jeans and helped her get out of them.

Then, she was down to her underwear.

He bit his lip, enjoying the sight way too much, and quickly got his own clothes off.

As he was getting the condom and lubricant from the nightstand, he returned to find her underwear gone.

Temporarily distracted, he went to her, kissing those soft lips that hungrily tasted his own, and he smirked at that unapologetic face after she bit his lip.

"You're so bitey today." Katsuki commented.

"So are you." Yurei countered.

He moved down her body, kissing along her soft skin, and took his time caressing and nuzzling her warm flesh. He needed to take his time.

One of his knees went between her legs, gently parting them, and he watched her eyes widen slightly.

"You're fucking gorgeous. Don't close your legs to me." Katsuki said gruffly, and she leaned up, kissing him again.

For a while he felt like he was in limbo, waiting anxiously for the next step.

When his hand met those wet lips, slipping into her folds, she let out another quiet gasp. He went to her neck, kissing and nuzzling her, while he slowly pumped the one finger in and out of her.

Then, a second one.

He was honestly pretty sure he would fit, and that wasn't wishful thinking. He would never tell her, but she wasn't exactly tight. Based on his research, this was actually pretty loose.

Like hell he would _ever_ say that to her.

He just focused on the feeling of sliding in and out of her, of slowly stretching her with his fingers, while his dick trailed precum along her soft thigh.

"K-Katsuki…?" Yurei practically whimpered, and he immediately looked down, freezing in place and wondering if he did something wrong. "Can you… replace your hand… with…."

He smirked down at her, the corners of his lips stretching to the sides of his face, making her blush deepen.

"What do you want in there, Blue?" Katsuki asked.

"Y-you know." Yurei stuttered so cutely.

He was so hard it was almost painful.

"I want to hear you say it. What do you want, Blue?" Katsuki asked, and went back to sliding his fingers in and out of her soaking wet cunt.

"... your dick…" Yurei whispered.

He leaned down, kissing her fully, and then pulled back. He reached over to his nightstand, getting his condom, and couldn't get it on quick enough.

He fumbled a bit, but hurried between her legs, and leaned down to kiss her again.

She passionately kissed back, gripping him tightly, and digging her nails into his sides.

"Are you sure?" He checked, looking her in the eye.

"Y-yeah." Yurei stuttered.

He quickly kissed her again, and with one arm propped next to her, reached between them, lining them up.

"Just go slow at first." Yurei said, and he nodded distractedly.

As he started to lower into her, he watched her face carefully, looking for any signs of discomfort.

His muscles tensed as he refrained from pulling out and slamming into her. Being inside her, finally, felt so fucking good. He hadn't felt much resistance as he went in, and didn't see much of a reaction from her, but he waited no less before continuing.

She leaned up, capturing his lips again, and she moaned softly as he slowly moved, centimeter by aching centimeter, out of her.

Slowly, he moved in and out of her, while she heatedly tongue wrestled him. She writhed beneath him, arching into him, and brought their bodies together.

He loved how close he felt to her when he was deep inside her, full to the hilt.

She moved her hips against his own, causing him to groan, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Whatever the fuck she was doing with her hips felt way too damn good.

"Can I go faster?" He asked.

"Yes." She moaned against his neck, and he growled into her ear, bracing himself as he readied himself. He sped up, one arm by her head and the other hand on her hip, gripping her as he moved in and out of her.

Her eyes rolled, mouth forming a small 'o' shape, and he went harder.

If it wasn't for the condom, he definitely would have cum by now.

He kept sliding in and out of her, mesmerized by that beautiful face, and was so caught up in the moment that he didn't realize he was so close until he was spilling over the edge.

His grip tightened, pulling her flush against him as the tightness inside him released, and he kissed her again, breathing heavy.

He tried not to fall on her as he saw stars, closing his eyes and nuzzling her neck softly.

Yurei was breathing hard, too, and he remembered that she needed to finish, too. His pride wasn't about to let her go undone, and she'd definitely complain to Mina if he didn't.

Once he'd caught his breath, he kissed her cheek, making her hazel eyes look his way again.

He moved down her body, adding kisses along the way, and paused to suck and bite when he came across a new scar. By the time they finished, she would be covered in hickies.

He smirked at an idea.

When he got to her clit, her eyes went wide again, and his smirk widened as he lowered.

He kissed the small nub, causing her to flinch.

He then latched onto it with his lips, going all in, and started to lick and suck.

She panted beneath him, her hands going to his hair. As he sucked, lathering her with his tongue, he looked up to see her arch her back in delight. He couldn't see her face, but the muffled sounds and writhing body were indication enough that he was on the right track.

He might just get hard again watching her.

The taste wasn't particularly pleasant, but the sounds were more than enough compensation. He wasn't entirely sure if he was doing this right, since there were so many folds and everything was wet, but he at least had to be pretty close. He could feel some of the hard, scarred tissue, but ignored it, careful to not dwell on them or stop to look. From what little he'd told her, some parts were numb to her, so he was mindful to focus on the parts she reacted to the most.

He sped up a little, moving his tongue faster along her clit, and she gripped his hair tighter.

Suddenly, she pushed him against her, her muscles tightening, spasming, and then relaxing.

He removed his mouth, and placed kisses along her thigh as he moved up her body again. When he reached her face, he saw the most happy, content, and relaxed expression he'd ever seen on her.

Feeling tired and satisfied, he lay down next to her, and pulled his sheets over them.

"Was I… ok?" Yurei asked softly, and he paused with his arm over her, having almost missed the whispered words.

"You were great, you always are." Katsuki replied, and shifted to look at her again.

Her gaze shifted away, avoiding his eyes, and he grunted.

"Stop it. You were fine. We both came, which means we won." Katsuki said, and she chuckled, a smile spreading across her face as she looked up at him. "I don't fuck losers."

"I lost this morning." She pointed out, and he rolled his eyes.

"That shit was rigged. I technically lost, too, asshole."

Yurei chuckled again.

Since she seemed content again, he laid down and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

6.

May 12th, Friday, 9:00 PM

After cuddling for a while and getting cleaned up (she had to cover up not one but two major hickies on her neck, to her great annoyance) she went down to the kitchen, and realized that Hana was there.

She was making a sandwich, seeming oblivious to her presence. Yurei hadn't paid much mind to her lately. They hadn't really talked since she figured out Hana's orientation.

Recalling her earlier blunder with Ochaco, Yurei went over to a counter, leaning against it.

"Hey, Hana. How's it going?" Yurei asked.

Hana looked up, and seemed indifferent as she returned her attention to the sandwich.

"Look, uh… I don't want to dwell in the past. I want to move forward. We're classmates, we'll probably have to work together in the future, and I don't want our history to get in the way of either of our grades. Can we agree to a mutual peace?" Yurei requested.

"No." Hana said curtly.

"... why not?" Yurei asked.

"I want you to suffer." Hana stated, and looked her in the eye.

That cold hatred sent a chill down her spine.

"I will torture you, and one day, you'll die by my hands." Hana added.

"Why can't you just go to a lesbian bdsm den instead of torturing me?" Yurei asked.

"Because I'm not gay, I just want you dead." Hana said.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

She didn't answer.

"Why do you want to kill me, Hana? Answer me." Yurei demanded, and set her phone to record their conversation. "Why do you want to kill me, Hana?"

"Because you need to die. Slowly, painfully… you just need to die." Hana said in a low voice.

"Am I the only one you think should die?" Yurei asked.

"You think you'll be the first? That's cute." Hana said in a low, even voice. "No one will believe you. No one will defend you. You're a whore that's stronger than I am with a history of attacking little, weak, defenseless, me. When I eventually kill you, no one will be the wiser."

"... how many other people have you hurt?"

Hana paused.

She took a bite of her sandwich.

"I have no idea what you mean, silly goose." Hana said, slipping into her girly facade instantly.

She practically skipped out of the room.

Yurei stopped the recording.

She texted Aizawa.

_Me: heeeeey, sooooo, just had a weird conversation with Hana Kojo. She implied that she's killed people before and is threatening to kill me. I figured no one would believe me, so I started recording half way through._

She sent the audio.

She honestly wasn't sure what Aizawa would do with that. He might just chalk it up to Hana having a stressful week and dismiss it. Katsuki threatens to kill people all the time, and they haven't kicked him out.

_Aizawa: where was this recorded?_

_Me: the kitchen. Dorms._

_Aizawa: is there anything leading up to this conversation that would change the context of this clip?_

_Me: … no? I saw her in the kitchen, tried to make peace, and then she started talking about killing me._

_Aizawa: I'll check the cameras tonight._

Yurei furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and then looked around the ceiling, finding two cameras in the corners.

She had no idea that they had cameras in this building.

_So Mina and Eijirou fucking in here last week was on camera. Mina is going to have a heart attack._

Yurei waved at the camera, and then looked back down at her phone, at Aizawa's texts.

… the way he talked to her sometimes reminded her of her dad.

Her stomach growled at her.

Then, she heard literal growling as Katsuki entered the room, going straight for the fridge.

"I'm fucking starving. Weren't you going to make sushi or some shit?" Katsuki asked.

"... was I?" She asked.

"You said this morning that you were going to make tiger rolls." Katsuki replied.

_Sounds like something I would say to shut him up._ _He was pretty loud this morning_.

"Ah. Thanks for reminding me." Yurei said with a smile, and he grunted.

"I'm starving. Get cooking." He ordered.

"Not with that attitude." Yurei said.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"If you want me to make you food, be nicer about it."

"_Please_ get your fucking ass moving so I can eat some motherfucking sushi, you cunt." Katsuki cursed at her, and her eyebrows rose in silent amazement.

"Try again." Yurei said.

"Just make the goddamn sushi." Katsuki snapped.

"Either say it politely or you can make your own sushi. I'll even be nice and leave out the supplies for you while I'm making my own rolls." Yurei said, and he growled at her.

She just smiled in turn.

"Either make the goddamn sushi or I'll never fuck you again." Katsuki threatened.

"Oh no." Yurei said sarcastically with a dramatic shrug. "What will I do without Bakugou growling and leaving giant fucking hickies on my neck? I might save a fortune on make up. Oh, no."

He glared daggers at her.

"What the fuck do you want me to say?" Katsuki barked.

"'Yurei, please make me some sushi.' Without calling me a cunt." Yurei told him.

"I already said 'please.'"

"You also called me a cunt, which cancels out the 'please' and turns you into a douchebag." Yurei told him, and he growled in annoyance.

His stomach growled, too.

"Blue, please make me some sushi." Katsuki grit.

"Okay." Yurei said in an upbeat voice.

"I have to put up with so much shit from you." Katsuki grumbled as she got to work.

"Because being polite to someone offering to make you food is so difficult." Yurei said.

He roughly grabbed her as she went to the fridge, pulling her flush against him, and put his hands on her waist. Leaning down, he kissed her softly, and licked at her lips.

She melted in his arms, enjoying the feel of him against her, and when she pulled away, looked up into his red, pompous eyes.

"It is." Katsuki said.

After a few seconds, she realized what he was replying to, and rolled her eyes.

"You are such a baby sometimes." Yurei said, and hit his chest lightly.

"You're on birth control, right?" Katsuki randomly asked, catching her offguard.

"... yeah?" Yurei confirmed. "Why?"

"There was a small tear in the condom." He said in a low voice, and her face turned red.

… _shit, have I been keeping up with taking my pills everyday?_

_Shit._

_Shit._

"We should get a pill at the store, just in case." Yurei said, and he grunted.

"We're still under house arrest, remember?" Katsuki said, and she sighed.

"Then I'll have to go to Recovery Girl." Yurei said, and he grunted. "I'll talk to her in the morning."

He grunted again, and she rolled her eyes as she went back to her task.

Katsuki became oddly quiet as she made them food, and she got weird vibes from him.

As she moved around, getting supplies and cutting them up, she noticed that he was staring at her stomach a lot.

"You okay?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah." He said gruffly.

"What's up?"

Katsuki was quiet for a while, staring off into space, and being contemplative. Somber moments like this weren't uncommon when they were together, but sometimes they caught her off guard.

"... what if we didn't get that pill?" Katsuki asked.

Yurei paused, stopping in place.

"... are you serious?" Yurei asked.

He shrugged awkwardly.

"I'm not quitting school to have a kid, and you're definitely not ready to be a dad. Your solution to kids crying is to yell at them for being stupid." Yurei pointed out.

"Crying is stupid." Katsuki said.

"You cry all the time. I cry all the time." Yurei pointed out, and he shifted, looking down at his feet. "I thought you didn't want kids?"

"... I didn't. I just… I don't know. If there's a living thing inside you, I don't want to rush into killing it." Katsuki muttered.

"There's no kids inside me. It's a clump of cells, at most. You're getting way ahead of yourself." Yurei told him.

He didn't say anything.

"There's nothing there, Katsuki. There's not even an 'it' to discuss. There's some semen and some eggs. That's it." Yurei said.

He was quiet.

"Apparently I've had family members with phasing quirks so unstable that they phased bones out of their body. Phased all of the skin off their body. Six year olds just falling through the floor and dying. We have the League of Villains attacking us and killing people. Our parents are dead or going nuts. We live in dorms and I wouldn't be able to do internships if I got knocked up." Yurei listed off.

"What about when we're older?" Katsuki asked.

She paused, thinking about it.

"If we ever had a kid together, and you ever hit them, I would take the kid and leave you. Can you honestly say, right now, that your temper is under control enough that you would never lose control with a screaming two year old that never shuts up and won't stop eating kitty litter?" Yurei asked him.

He wouldn't meet her gaze. He kept looking at his feet.

"... so for you to even consider it… I would need to control my temper more?" Katsuki asked.

"Why do you suddenly want kids? What the hell is going on with you?" Yurei asked.

He shrugged.

"I'm not pregnant, Katsuki. Fuck." Yurei cursed as she went back to cutting ingredients.

7.

May 13th, Saturday, 11:00 AM

Katsuki was weirdly affectionate the next day.

Since no one else was at the dorms, they could be affectionate in the commons without bothering anyone.

Yurei sat sideways on his lap, going back and forth between reading and messing with her phone. Katsuki just held her, his arms around her waist and holding her close, seeming weirdly somber that day. He switched between nuzzling her neck and hair.

Even though he acted sad, he wasn't as depressed as when she first came to this school. Being able to be more open with his feelings was having a positive effect on his day to day mood. He was still moody, and when guys were around he'd yell a lot, but having someone to be around without being pressured to scream was helping.

Well… she hoped she was having a positive effect.

_He's so fucking weird._

She glanced at his face, feeling him shift, and burst into laughter.

"What?" He snapped.

"You have make up all over your nose." Yurei laughed, and he glared. He took his phone out, using it as a mirror, and then glared at her again.

"Why the fuck are you wearing make up on your neck, anyway?" Katsuki asked.

"Because it looks like a zombie tried to bite my neck off. Twice." Yurei said, and he smirked as he leaned in closer.

"And other places." He added, but the light makeup dusting his nose and forehead were too amusing, and she just smiled while staring at it. "Fuck off."

"If you're going to wear make up, can I at least fix it?" Yurei asked, and he grunted, beginning to move.

She shrieked as he stood up, picking her up in the process, and dumped her on the couch before walking off.

"Are you sure that you don't want to try purple eyeshadow? It'll bring out the red in your eyes!" Yurei called after him.

"Go to hell!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, just as someone walked in the door. She turned, and was surprised to see her mom there.

Yurei's eyes went wide in horror. Her eyes nearly leaped from their sockets.

She jumped to stand, and straightened out her clothes. She was wearing her "sexy leggings" and a low cut shirt that had shifted to show more cleavage than she planned.

"You're a fucking cunt, Blue!" Katsuki shouted at the top of his lungs from the bathroom.

Yurei's face went bright red, and her mother's face went red in anger.

"Were you just yelling at my daughter, young man!?" Her mother shouted.

"... what?" Katsuki shouted back, confused.

"He was just joking before, mom." Yurei said awkwardly.

"He was just 'jokingly' calling you a cunt?" Her mother asked.

"... yeah…." Yurei said, frozen stiff.

"WHOEVER THE FUCK YELLED AT ME, YOU'RE A CUNT, TOO!" Katsuki shouted at the top of his lungs.

She wanted to die.

The blood drained from her face.

"... my mom is here, Katsuki! Let's tone down on the name calling!" Yurei yelled.

"Why the fuck is that bitch here?" Katsuki shouted.

Her mom looked ready to kill him.

"Come with me." Her mom told her.

"... to where?" Yurei asked.

"To get you better clothes. Then, we're going to a church service with my sister." She replied.

"... what?" Yurei asked, confused.

"I'm not going to let the devil get you again. We're going to get you proper clothes." Her mother said.

"... excuse me? Are you high?" Yurei asked.

"I'm sober, thanks to the love of Jesus."

_Oh, shit._

Her mom was raised in a really weird, really Christian home. Yurei hadn't been too upset about being shunned by them. Her mom had horror stories about them.

Yurei's aunt was religious, but not quite as strict as their parents. She was the kind of Christian that thought non-Christians were going to Hell, but she was still nice to them.

"You realize that if the drug is called Jesus, that doesn't make it not a drug?" Yurei asked.

Normally, her mom would laugh.

That day, she did not.

"Get in the car." Her mother grit, her eyes wide in rage.

"I can't leave campus. I'm-"

"You better come with me right now or so help me God I will drag you out. Get your coat and let's go." Her mother said.

8.

May 13th, Saturday, 4:00 PM

After hours of dealing with her mom, and eventually storming off, Yurei showed back up at the school.

When she got there, the security guards were taken aback, looking at her face with a startled expression.

"What the hell happened to you?" Tony asked.

"Mom converted to Christianity." Yurei said.

"So she kicked the shit out of you?" Tony asked.

She shrugged.

Her mom got frustrated when Yurei didn't take the special church sermon seriously. Those people drink wine because it's the blood of some dead guy, but she's the crazy one?

Her mom was also insisting that Ikari raped her because of how open with sexuality her parents had been in her upbringing and the clothes she wore. She was determined to "make up for her past sins," by going to church and forcing Yurei to wear conservative dresses. She had a whole slew of new sexist and weird phrases.

Yurei didn't take kindly to her mom saying her dad was in Hell.

Words were exchanged.

Yurei was so frustrated that she couldn't use her phase quirk right, and she sure as hell wasn't going to hit her mom, so… she learned that her mom's purse was very heavy.

"Since you're alone and injured, I have to call over the teacher on duty." Tony said.

"Alright." Yurei said tiredly. They always had a hero on shift, ready to respond in an emergency.

"Hey Kan, Kasai showed up alone and injured. Protocol says that you walk her over to the infirmary." Tony said into his radio.

The other guy just stared at her, saying nothing.

"How bad are the injuries?" Kan asked on the other end.

"It looks like just bruises?" Tony said, and Yurei nodded.

"I'll be right over." Kan replied.

"So how is your guys' day going?" Yurei asked them.

"I missed the bus this morning and was late for my shift. Nezu was pretty mad." Tony replied.

"I'm sorry dude. I can't imagine getting on Nezu's bad side. I've heard horror stories." Yurei said, and continued conversation for a while.

After a few minutes, Kan arrived, and had a similar reaction that the guards did.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kan asked. Instead of being in his hero outfit, which she usually saw him in, he was in formal black pants and a blue form fitting shirt.

"My mom." Yurei answered simply.

"I'll call Aizawa on our way over to the infirmary." Kan said, and the guards opened the gate.

"Why?" Yurei asked.

"He likes being informed when something happens to students from his class. Come on." Kan said.

"Okie doke." Yurei said in an upbeat voice with a smile, and walked past the gate, waving goodbye to the guards. "Stay safe, and have a nice night."

"You too, Ghost." Tony replied. He liked using hero names with the students.

"How is your night going, Kan?" Yurei asked casually, starting up conversation with him. Soon, he was chuckling along with her, but would sober up slightly when he looked at her face.

When they got to the infirmary, Recovery Girl made a face at her.

"Did Bakugou do that?" Recover Girl asked.

"Nah." Yurei said.

She looked at her neck.

"Okay, the hickies are from him. He's an idiot. Everything else wasn't him." Yurei corrected.

She heard someone else enter the room, and looked over to see Aizawa enter. He looked tired, and yawned into his hand as he entered.

"Sorry to call you in on your day off." Kan apologized.

"I'm sorry, too. Maybe I should take a class on dodging." Yurei jested, but when he looked at her face, he stilled.

Aizawa was not amused.

"Feel better, Kasai." Kan said, and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Have a nice night." Yurei replied cheerfully.

"Why do you keep ending up here, Yurei?" Recovery Girl asked incredulously.

"I just don't want you to get bored on your shift. Don't you like seeing me?" Yurei said.

"Not like this." Recovery Girl said stiffly.

"Not in the mood for jokes?" Yurei asked.

Recovery Girl gave her a look.

"Can you give us a minute?" Aizawa asked Recovery Girl.

"I'll come back in fifteen minutes." Recovery Girl said, and gave Yurei another look before heading out.

_As if I'm trying to get injured._

"It doesn't look good for the school when students to walk around like that. So why didn't you dodge?" Aizawa asked.

"It would have looked worse if I hit back or lost my skin in the process. I did my best to block. I left when I was able." Yurei said.

"Who attacked you?"

Her heart clenched, and her carefree facade faltered.

"My mom. She didn't hit me as a kid, so she never learned the tact of avoiding the face. My phasing quirk wasn't stable, so I didn't want to risk losing my skin. I think my mom's been traumatized enough without seeing my bicep muscles up close." Yurei said in a light voice, but she could sense and see that he understood.

"Were there any witnesses?" Aizawa asked in a level voice.

"We were in a church parking lot. There were people, but I don't think they'll want to come forward for any reason. After the altercation I quickly left and came back here. On the plus side, I got a free ride- the cab driver felt bad for me, so he didn't charge." Yurei said.

"I should let you know, that since you're an adult, you can press charges against her." Aizawa said.

"Like you threatened Katsuki's mom when she hit me?" Yurei asked, and he nodded.

"We'll document this, nonetheless. With the increase of villain activity, there has unfortunately been a rise in vigilante activity as well, so law enforcement is asking us to be a little more thorough when students come to school with injuries. We document it, saying the source and circumstances." Aizawa explained.

Yurei looked away, and took a deep breath.

"I can also instruct security to not let your mother onto campus. At least for the time being." Aizawa added. She nodded.

"So do I need to report to Recovery Girl whenever I get an injury off campus?" Yurei asked, and he nodded.

"We planned to make an official announcement on Monday."

She could still sense his anxiety from what she said before.

"Where do you find a cow with no legs?" Yurei asked.

He paused, blinking at her for a moment.

Then, he let out a breath, and she could feel some of his anxiety lessen. She guessed that he was finally catching on.

"Where?" Aizawa asked.

"Right where you left it." Yurei said, then asked, "What's E.T. short for?"

"Extra terrestrial?"

"Because he's only got little legs." Yurei said. That took him a few seconds to get.

"Why did the picture go to jail?" Aizawa asked, and then answered, "Because it was framed."

Yurei grinned and chuckled.


	23. Chapter 22

**PSA:** For my peeps in the USA- if you have the ability to vote this election, GET YOUR BOOTY TO THE POLLS! MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS SET TO HAVE YOUR BALLOTS MAILED TO YOU! AS SOON AS YOU GET YOUR BALLOT, LIKE THE DAY OF, SEND IT IN TO BE COUNTED! Don't care which side you're voting for, JUST MAKE SURE IT'S COUNTED!

Covid-19 is still a real threat, so make sure to wash your hands, wear a mask, social distance, and stay home when you can!

**Author's Note:** Now that the above is out of the way- thank you all for the lovely reviews, follows, and faves! Stay safe, everyone! And I hope you enjoy the new chapters!

(sidenote: I just learned that this site won't let you do multiple exclamation points in a row? that's super lame.)

* * *

**Chapter 22**

_Everything is a Joke With the Right Mindset_

May 13th, Saturday, 6:00 PM

Katsuki glared at his dad from across the table.

Masaru, Katsuki's dad, got two passes to spend time at the school that evening. A pass for himself, and then a pass for his partner, Dosei. They brought food they'd made from home, including miso soup and his favorite type of sushi.

"Is your little girlfriend not here today?" His dad asked.

"Her mom showed up and dragged her off somewhere." Katsuki grumbled angrily with his arms crossed over his chest.

"We brought extra for her, but I guess that just means more for us." Weird Eyes said. He had multi-colored eyes that changed with his mood, and a skin tone that occasionally shifted color, too.

Katsuki grunted.

"Eh? Mr. Bakugou?" A familiar voice spoke from the doorway, and Katsuki looked over, relieved to see Yurei standing over there. She was wearing different clothes from when she left and it looked like she'd redone her make up to be thicker than usual. He was surprised to see her in the skinny jeans and hoodie.

"Oh, Kasai! I'm so happy to see you! I was hoping that you could join us!" His dad exclaimed way too excitedly.

"You can call me Yurei." Yurei replied, and Katsuki's eye twitched slightly.

"You're the girl I've heard so much about! My name is Dosei! It's nice to meet you!" Weird Eyes exclaimed nervously, jumping up and bowing to her.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Dosei. Are you a friend of Katsuki's father?" Yurei asked, and he blushed as he stood upright.

"That's his dumb boyfriend." Katsuki answered.

"Katsuki, please be nicer." His father pleaded.

"Why the fuck should I be, homo?" Katsuki asked with a glare, and then felt Yurei's hand on his head.

"What kind of food is that? I'm starving." Yurei asked next to him, using his head as an armrest.

"Dosei made everyone sushi and miso soup. The miso soup is a special recipe handed down in his family for generations. It's very good." His dad said, and his dumb boyfriend blushed.

"Sounds great." Yurei said.

Katsuki grunted, watching as she sat down next to him.

Something seemed off about her.

"So, what do you do for a living, Dosei?" Yurei asked casually as they started getting the food out of the bags. They had brought nice plates and bowls, along with nice, decorative chopsticks.

"I own a small gardening company. We grow exotic flowers and maintain gardens for clients." Weird Eyes said.

"That sounds cool. You don't by chance volunteer at the Q Center in the Koya District, do you?" Yurei asked, and Katsuki's dad and boyfriend blinked at her in surprise.

"How do you know that?" Weird Eyes asked.

"They always had such weird flowers there. My mom took me there a lot when I was younger. I learned most of what I know about hairstyling and make up from the drag queens there." Yurei answered, and Katsuki gaped at her.

_Seriously? _

Weird Eyes gasped.

"Are you Hoshi's little girl!?" Weird Eyes asked.

"Yeah." Yurei answered.

"Oh my gosh, you've grown up! I didn't even recognize you! Didn't you go by a different name? Wasn't it… Yu Yu? You were so cute!" Weird Eyes gushed.

"Yeah, that was my nickname was I was little." Yurei said, and smiled.

"Why the hell were you hanging around gay people as a kid?" Katsuki asked her.

"Drag Queens are great for kids, with the big hair and make up. They did story time at the Q Center, so my parents brought me there. They do a lot of youth activities there." Yurei explained with a genuine smile.

She seemed to relax, which in turn, made him relax slightly.

"And now you're a hero. You and your cousin are talked about in the news so often as up and coming heroes. They keep showing the clip of you and Katsuki fighting those Nomus, and sometimes clips that the school provided of you and Katsuki fighting together. I can't believe you're the same little girl that would do karaoke with the teenagers." Weird Eyes said.

"You like karaoke?" Katsuki asked her.

"I'm terrible at it. I don't subject people to my terrible voice anymore." Yurei said with a slight blush.

"You were so cute, in your little tutu and wig." Weird Eyes said.

"Is Lulu still working there?" Yurei asked.

As the pair chatted, Katsuki and his dad were left to awkwardly sit there in silence.

His dad was smiling, though.

He hadn't seen him smile like that before, and he did that whenever he looked at Weird Eyes.

As Weird Eyes and Yurei chatted together like old friends, laughing and joking together about their time at the whatever Center, he found himself weirdly content. He was glad that Yurei had shown up when he did, otherwise this would have been a terribly awkward, angry, terrible dinner.

Katsuki quietly ate his meal and listened, surprised when his dad would occasionally pipe in. He'd never been active at the whatever Center, but he did know some of the people there. Surprise.

Katsuki had never heard him talk about something in such an excited way. It was almost like he was an entirely different person.

1.

May 13th, Saturday, 8:00 PM

After dinner, Yurei and Katsuki lounged in the commons together on one of the couches. Her legs were stretched out across the cushions, her back against Katsuki's side, and book on her lap. She was reading a book on emotion based quirks recently published. Two of her aunts and her mother are mentioned in it.

Katsuki seemed weird and contemplative again, so she let him be. She was just happy that he didn't yell homophobic slurs all through the dinner, and seeing someone from the Q Center had been a nice surprise. After her crazy day, she enjoyed being around someone so upbeat and happy.

"So what happened with your mom today?" Katsuki asked.

Yurei accidentally snapped her book closed.

She'd enjoyed not thinking about that.

"She used her emotions quirk on me the way she's not supposed to. Security won't let her on campus anymore." Yurei said in a low voice, and tried to focus on the book in her hands.

She set the book on her thighs.

Her hands shook.

She glared at her hands, focusing on leveling her breathing.

"Did you tell anyone that she used her quirk on you?" Katsuki asked.

"No. Everytime I tried, I made a dumb joke. Everytime I think about it, I want to think about something else. Aizawa was on his day off when he came on campus to see me. I think he'd been sleeping. Do you know why birds fly to warmer climates in the winter?" Yurei asked.

"... instinct?"

"Because it's easier than walking. Why did the picture go to jail?" Yurei asked.

"Do you just make bad jokes when you're freaked out?" Katsuki asked.

"The picture went to jail because he was framed. Aizawa told me that one earlier. How does the ocean say hello?" Yurei asked, and felt him shifting behind her. "It waves."

He moved her, causing her to lean back on his lap and look up at him. He'd moved the pillow to cushion her head on him.

"What's E.T. short for?" Yurei asked.

"Cuz he has tiny ass legs." Katsuki said, and she grinned up at him. "What's stupid and cute at the same time?"

"You?" Yurei asked, and he glared as he tapped her nose.

"You." Katsuki said.

"You think I'm cute?"

"And stupid."

"You think I'm cute?" Yurei asked again, her smile getting wider, and he smiled, too.

"Yeah."

2.

May 14th, Sunday, 11:00 AM

Katsuki scratched his head as he walked across the campus, making his way to the food hall. He didn't feel like cooking and it was his turn to get food. Yurei was staying behind to finish laundry.

The fresh air felt nice on his skin, and he appreciated the woodsy scent. He'd been cooped inside a little too much that week.

His leg was pretty much healed, and with that, he wanted to stretch his legs more. Maybe he'd drag Yurei out for a jog later.

The campus was still dead that morning, since so many people were out on internships. The ones who weren't were studying or sleeping, resting from the midterms this last week.

As the trees swayed with the breeze, he thought back to Yurei the previous night.

Whatever the hell happened between her and her mom, freaked her the hell out. He couldn't get any other information from her that night about what happened.

What she said about her mom using her quirk on her, though… Katsuki was pretty aware of just how messed up that emotions quirk could be when used right. They'd worked together for that human trafficking project, and Yurei had come up with a lot of methods to use her quirk in fucked up ways. Even unintentionally, that emotions quirk can make people freak the fuck out, like round face the other day.

He honestly debated telling Aizawa. Laws were really specific about how you're allowed to use quirks, and he was pretty sure that there were some specifically designed for quirks of that nature. If Yurei was freaked, it had to be bad.

_I'm no snitch, though._

… _but she's also physically incapable of telling him. _He was pretty sure that when she changed the conversation with her dumb jokes, that was a weird defense mechanism for her. He didn't think that she was physically capable of talking about it.

As he walked through the main food hall, walking past tables and chairs to the main deli, he saw someone wave in the corner of his eye.

Katsuki looked over, and saw one of the security guards. _… Lenny?_

"Hey, Bakugou. How's it going? How's Kasai holding up?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Katsuki asked.

"Her mom really beat her up yesterday; I was on shift when she came in. Today I heard that Kasai's mom isn't allowed on campus anymore, and after Kasai's dad dying, she must be crushed." Lenny said.

_That's why she was wearing so much make up last night. Recovery Girl healed her and she covered up the rest with make up._

"She's doing better today. I'm just getting us lunch." Katsuki said.

"That's good. Tell her I say 'hi' when you see her, okay? Take care of her." Lenny said.

Katsuki nodded, and walked away.

3.

May 14th, Sunday, 1:00 PM

After lunch, they went to Yurei's room.

They bit. They scratched. They kissed.

Yurei craved the distraction, the rush of dopamine, and physical contact.

There wasn't much hesitation that time.

She just wanted him inside her, to taste his lips, feel him gasp beneath her touch.

4.

May 15th, Monday, 6:00 AM

The next day in their morning training class, Yurei had hoped to zone out and distract herself with exercising.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be doing mindless exercise.

When she first arrived ten minutes earlier, she'd planned to drink her coffee quickly, but slowed down when All Might said that she didn't have to rush. He would be talking for the first part of class, and then they would split off to their own activities.

All Might stood before them with Aizawa. When they first signed up for classes this term, they required that everyone sign up for both of their classes and not have anything scheduled between them, on the rare days that they decided to do activities from six AM all the way to noon.

Yurei sat on one of the few cushioned seats, her legs criss-crossed at an angle beneath her. While everyone else chatted or attempted to not fall back asleep, she just quietly sipped her coffee, trying to not think of the other day with her mother.

Some parts of what happened were a blur to her.

The physical injuries had been simple.

The emotional ones… not so much.

The thermos was warm against her hands.

"This week, you're going to be working on building a portfolio." All Might announced, once everyone was together. "You're going to be choreographing and executing moves, putting together bios, and work histories, for a website. The website will effectively be something for potential employers to look at when you're applying for agencies.

"You'll be graded on the content, fight choreography, general aesthetics, and how well it communicates who you are as a hero. It's okay to have some fun with this, but stay realistic. The choreographed fights will be performed at the coliseum with professional cameras and lighting, and will be open for friends and family to watch.

"For the choreographed fights, you want them to highlight your abilities as best as you can. You can choose to fight whoever you want, but I recommend someone who won't take away from your own quirk. Show off what you're best at, and pick someone who will allow your quirk to be utilized the best."

As the teacher went on, Yurei refrained from sighing, and looked over at Katsuki.

He had a weird look on his face, probably imagining Deku on the ground defeated while Katsuki pumped his hands in the air. Katsuki would no doubt wear a king's crown or something equally gaudy to show off how "strong" he was.

"You have one week until the choreographed fight, and then the following Friday will have the websites due. I recommend getting as much done for the website as you can before Monday, so that all you have to worry about next week is executing the fight and then editing it with a video software we'll show you. When the website is done and we've cleared it, we'll link it to the school page. If you need inspiration, I recommend taking a look at professional hero pages, and perhaps some of your upperclassmen." All Might said.

"From six to eight, you'll work on choreography. After that, we have a computer lab checked out from eight to noon. You'll be able to come and go, and I'll be there to answer questions and give talks on various presentation techniques. We'll have some extra teachers come by, too, to give short presentations throughout the next two weeks." Aizawa explained.

_This is going to be such a pain. I have a longer work history than most of these people. It'll take forever._ Yurei thought miserably.

As they went on to describe the next to weeks, her mind went on to think about Katsuki in the bedroom. They spent all of their free time doing that, nowadays. Sometimes she wondered how someone so attractive kept coming back to her bed, how she'd started to date someone so considerate, and then she'd remember all those baseless death threats he makes to his classmates everyday.

_He's hot, though._

… _would I date him if he wasn't? If he was just average?_

_Yeah, but I wouldn't put up with his shit nearly as much. He'd have to work a lot harder to keep me._

She just couldn't stay mad at that cute face, sexy red eyes, and killer abs.

When people started shifting, she realized that the teachers were handing out packets, probably detailing the assignment.

When she got hers, she skimmed through it.

The "work history" section was going to take forever. She had a loooot of photos from that and her dad helped her stay busy those months. Not to mention all the volunteering work at H.T.S. and hospitals.

"Todoroki, Bakugou; just a reminder that your provisional hero license classes are coming up." Aizawa said, and both boys nodded.

"Eh? Are you renewing your license?" Yurei blurted.

"They were the only two in the class that didn't pass the provisional hero license exam fall term." Tsu whispered to her.

"Eh? Two of the strongest students in class don't have hero licenses?" Yurei asked in surprise.

"Did you take the exam fall term? I don't remember seeing you there." Eijirou asked.

"I've had my hero license since I was thirteen." Yurei said, and most of the class gawked at her in surprise.

She was surprised that no one had gotten it before coming to college. It was a pretty handy license.

"How the fuck did you pass that shit exam at thirteen?" Katsuki snapped at her.

"You were the youngest person to ever pass, weren't you?" Aizawa asked.

"Second youngest. The other person was technically born a few days younger than me." Yurei answered.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Katsuki shouted at her.

"You would have passed if you didn't just run off on your own and scream at injured people for the second half of the exam." Eijirou said.

"They were stupid and deserved to be yelled at!" Katsuki replied heatedly.

"You're never going to pass with that attitude."

"I HAVE A GREAT ATTITUDE, I HAVE THE BEST ATTITUDE IN THE CLASS!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and Yurei cracked a smile. Even the teachers seemed amused.

The class slowly shifted, as people grouped up and started brainstorming ways to show off their quirk in a fight.

Katsuki was still upset at her, though.

"How the fuck can a thirteen year old pass that shit? Most people don't even get it until their second year in college." Katsuki asked her.

"My dad wanted me to get it early on since I was going to be volunteering so much at H.T.S.. I originally failed the exam on my first try, when I was twelve. The second time through went smoother." Yurei answered.

"You're just amazing, Yurei. Katsuki of all people should be able to appreciate that." Mina said, and sent a glare his way.

As they bickered, Yurei went over to All Might for a question.

"How long should the work history be for this assignment? I have a lot of pictures, quotes, and stories." Yurei asked.

"Include as much as you can." All Might replied.

"For the purposes of this assignment, can I use an abridged version?" Yurei asked, and he shook his head.

She ended up back with her group, where they were chatting about ways to show off their quirks.

"Ooh! I can skate around super fast!" Mina said excitedly.

"You better fucking phase in our fight, because I'm going to go all out against you." Katsuki told Yurei.

"Eijirou would be a better pick for you. When he withstands the attack it'll look impressive for you to deal so much damage and impressive for him to withstand it. It won't look as cool if it just goes through me." Yurei told him.

"Then what are you going to do?" Katsuki asked, and she shrugged.

"My quirk is more practical than flashy. I'll have to think on it." Yurei answered.

"Are you okay? You seem a little down." Mina commented.

"I'm not excited for the work history portion. It's going to be a pain in the ass to get my entire work history on there." Yurei answered.

"Tch, at least you have a work history. Most of us scrubs just have a couple of internships." Eijirou replied.

"How was your weekend?" Mina asked her.

"Eh. Getting laid was nice." Yurei shrugged.

"Oi, don't sound so excited about it." Katsuki said sarcastically.

"You called me a cunt in front of my mother, and then you called her one, too." Yurei reminded him with a glare, and both Mina and Eijirou gasped.

"You did what!? Are you serious, bro?" Eijirou asked.

"It's not like I was wrong. Lenny said she fucked you up." Katsuki said, turning back to Yurei.

"Who the fuck is Lenny?" Yurei snapped at him.

"The security guy. He said that you showed up at campus looking like shit." Katsuki said, and her face heated up at the memory.

She tried not to think about what led to that.

"Did you seriously call her mom a cunt, dude? That's not cool. She's a really sweet old lady." Eijirou said.

She tried not to think about it.

The feelings came back, and she tried to block them out.

_You're not supposed to use your quirk like that._

_That's not how you use your quirk._

4.

May 15th, Monday, 6:30 AM

Their conversation stopped when Yurei suddenly grabbed her head and fell to the floor.

She didn't phase through it.

She curled up into a ball, as if taking up as little space as possible, with her nails digging into the back of her neck. Her face was hidden, dark and covered, and muscles were tense as she curled up as tightly as possible.

"... Yurei? Are you okay?" Mina asked.

The entire group took a few seconds to react. Yurei was usually pretty good at acting normal in public. In private she could be anxious, but in the middle of class?

Mina knelt down next to her. "Yurei, are you okay?"

Katsuki had a bad feeling as he watched her.

Yurei was so… still.

"I can't hear you, can you repeat that?" Mina asked as she leaned in closer, and paused.

"What's she saying?" Eijirou asked.

Yurei seemed to be muttering something.

"... she's just muttering about quirk laws. Yurei, what's wrong?" Mina asked, putting a hand on her back, and making Yurei stiffen.

"Why aren't dogs good dancers? They have two left feet. What did one plate whisper to the other plate? Dinner is on me. How do waves say goodbye? They wave." Yurei rambled, sending a terrifying chill down his spine.

"Is Kasai injured?" Aizawa asked from his spot, getting their attention.

"We don't know what's going on. We were just talking and then she did that." Eijirou answered.

"Why can't you trust atoms? They make up everything. Which superhero hits the most home runs? Batman." Yurei said.

_What the hell?_ Katsuki wondered in bewilderment._ What the hell is wrong with her?_

Aizawa came over, and knelt down near her. "Kasai, are you okay?"

"How do you stop an astronaut's baby from crying? You rocket. What do you call a boomerang that won't come back? A stick." Yurei said.

"Just focus on your breathing, okay? Just breathe." Aizawa instructed in a calm voice.

"Focusing on breathing is a common technique used by people dealing with someone in emotional distress. Breathing helps not only the person in emotional distress but also the person instructing the breathing, because by demonstrating breaths, it forces both of them to deescalate and calm down. Focusing on breathing is also a common meditation technique to calm the mind." Yurei said in a fast voice.

Her nails kept digging into her neck.

"You're right, breathing is a good technique to calm down. You seem stressed, so I theorized that breathing would help you calm down." Aizawa said.

"That's a rational response based on reason and experience. That's what you're supposed to do when someone is upset, not use your quirk irresponsibly- how do you make an octopus laugh? With ten-tickles. What washes up on really small beaches? Micro-waves." Yurei spoke.

Listening and watching her act so strange was terrifying. Katsuki had no idea what to do.

"Did someone use their quirk irresponsibly?" Aizawa asked her.

"Why did the picture go to jail?" Yurei asked.

"Because it was framed." Aizawa answered.

Yurei paused. Katsuki was pretty sure that she didn't expect him to answer.

"What washes up on a small beach?" Aizawa asked.

"Micro-waves." Yurei answered.

"Hey, let's give her some space. Let's all move over to the gymnasium." All Might said in a low voice, corralling the class over to the other room.

"... what do you call a boomerang that won't come back?" Yurei asked in a softer, calmer voice.

"A stick." Aizawa answered. Her fingers seemed to relax slightly on her neck.

Reluctantly, Katsuki walked off with the others, watching her all the while.

5.

May 15th, Monday, 6:50 AM

After a few more small jokes, Kasai seemed to relax, and focus on her breathing.

Aizawa was patient as he sat there, quietly observing her. Part of her foot was in the floor, meaning that she was using her phasing quirk. Her phasing quirk sometimes seemed like a safety net for her, a means of self defense, so he didn't use his quirk on her. He was concerned that she might lose some skin, but so long as she stayed in place, she should be fine. Forcing her quirk to stop would probably cause her more stress.

He'd honestly been wondering when she was going to crack. He saw the beginnings of it on Saturday.

Recovery Girl's reaction to her arrival at the infirmary seemed to set her off, even if she didn't realize it. With every joke or silly comment that Recovery Girl refused to go along with, Kasai's looks became more and more scathing and tone more insistent.

Ms. Joke was similar. She dealt with her stress by making jokes, and when people didn't go along with her jokes, she would get increasingly nervous.

"Did you know that India has a legal third gender, called Hijra?" Kasai asked.

"I didn't." Aizawa admitted.

"I don't know if I can ever forgive my mom. The cheating thing, I was getting over… getting used to, at least, but using her quirk like that…." Kasai spoke.

"Using her quirk how?" Aizawa asked.

"My mom has always used her quirk on me for small things. When I was scared, she'd make me confident. When I had a bad dream, she'd calm me down. If I was being stubborn and angry, she'd make me laugh. There are rules. There are lines that you don't cross." Kasai spoke, and he tried to stay calm.

Aizawa couldn't just look calm, he had to actually be calm around her, to keep her from reacting to that.

The implications of misusing an emotions quirk were expansive, though, and considering how unstable her mother was, he was nervous about what had happened.

On Saturday, Kasai's mother had called him to confirm letting them off campus together. She seemed upset but rational. He'd hoped that they would work things out.

_Whatever happened, Kasai could be overreacting, though. _Aizawa reminded himself. Given how much had happened this year, it would make sense for her to be a little extra sensitive to her mother.

But then he remembered her face and arms the previous day.

_If her mother used her quirk to make her emotionally unstable enough, Kasai would potentially not be able to use either of her quirks or dodge properly. If that's the case, that's a blatant misuse of a quirk on her mother's side._

"In America, there are these people called Native Americans. Some of their tribes recognized people called Two-Spirit people, who were gender non-conforming people. Before Europe colonized them, they considered Two-Spirits to sometimes be so valued that they were wise elders, and wouldn't make a decision for the tribe without them." Kasai spoke.

"You seem to know a lot about third gender people." Aizawa commented.

"My mom researched minority genders and sexualities and taught me about them. They tend to be heavily discriminated against around the world and are disproportionately abused and disowned by families. They're a good target for traffickers." Kasai spoke.

"Do you still plan to work at H.T.S. when you graduate?" Aizawa inquired.

"Yes. I'm going to be working there this summer with Katsuki." Kasai answered.

"That'll be a very dangerous position." Aizawa commented.

"I'm okay with danger." Kasai said, and he smiled, glad to hear the determination in her voice.

"So what happened with your mom?" Aizawa asked.

There was a pause, but she didn't seem to react as strongly as when he first came over to her.

"No one else is in the room. Anything you say is confidential." Aizawa added.

"... she took me to a church service. Constantly using her quirk to keep me docile. When I tried to leave, she insisted that if I didn't do as she said, that I would get raped again. So she used her quirk to make me feel that… what Ikari did to me. That fear, that vulnerability; she forced that feeling on me, and hit me, emphasizing that she was trying to save my soul. Save me from Katsuki. She said that my dad is in Hell right now." Kasai explained, and Aizawa's heart fell at that.

Anger filled him, that familiar protectiveness rearing its head.

He tried to push that down.

"How do you make an artichoke?" Kasai asked, her voice cracking.

"... I'm not angry at you. I'm upset that your mother could be so irresponsible. That's a gross misuse of a quirk. That's not something that I can ignore." Aizawa said.

Kasai sighed, and then finally sat up, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She'd been crying.

"Is there a time limit for how long our choreographed fights are supposed to go for?" Kasai asked.

"... no." Aizawa answered. _So random._

"I guess I could do that. Knock out a group like chess, and then have Katsuki left over. That should show off enough skills for that." Kasai said softly.

"Do you need some place to talk and calm down? We can go to my office. Once you're collected enough, you can go back to your classmates and work on the assignment." Aizawa suggested.

"Which hand is better to write with?" Kasai suddenly asked, looking directly at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, and cheeks raw. She didn't wait for him to answer. "Neither, it's better to write with a pen."

6.

May 15th, Monday, 7:30 AM

Mina suddenly gasped.

"We can do villain costumes." Mina whispered in awe, and then grinned manically while hopping up and down. "I can be Lord Pinky, Ruler of the Night!"

"They said to focus on the quirks, not the props, Mina. And making extra costumes for this would take up too much time." Eijirou told her.

"My quirk sucks- I have to use flash and props- YUREIIIIII!" Mina screeched at the top of her lungs, ran across the room, and pounced on her, causing them to loudly fall to the floor. "GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT," She chanted loudly while straddling Yurei's waist and staring into her eyes, their noses touching.

The entire class stopped to stare at them.

"What the fuck are you screaming about?" Yurei asked.

"VILLAIN COSTUMES!" Mina exclaimed and pumped her fists excitedly into the air.

"Your girlfriend is insane." Katsuki told Eijirou.

"... yeah." Eijirou said with a nod.

"Eh? We can do costumes for our villains?" Yurei asked.

"YES! Eiji is a meany and doesn't want to do it." Mina said excitedly.

"Why not? That sounds fun. You can finally be Lord Pinky, Ruler of the Night, and make that costume you've wanted to make." Yurei said.

Katsuki was astounded by that response. He wondered if Yurei was insane, too, and that's why those two got along so well.

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID! We should dump our boyfriends and date each other. OH- OH- OH- we can be Lord Pinky of the Night and her evil lover, Poltergeist of the Night!" Mina exclaimed.

"Would we wear crowns?" Yurei asked.

"No, we would wear nothing like common peasants- OF COURSE WE WEAR CROWNS!" Mina shouted.

"It looks like Yurei is feeling better." Eijirou commented, and Katsuki nodded.

"Katsuki, Eiji!" Mina suddenly shouted, pointing at them. "You will be our evil henchmen, Hardy and Explodey!"

"No." Eijirou and Katsuki said in unison.

"I'll do that thing you like if you do it." Mina told Eijirou with a smile, and Katsuki looked at him, watching his eyes widen slightly and cheeks turn red.

"Fine." Eijirou said indignantly.

Katsuki barely stopped himself in time from asking what that was. He didn't want to know.

"Katsukiiiiiiii," Yurei whined, and sat up on her elbows, looking at him.

"No." Katsuki barked in response.

"Pleeeeease-?"

"No." Katsuki interrupted.

"Hardy and Explodey?" Denki snickered nearby, and Katsuki sent him a glare.

"Get the fuck off the floor and help us plan out the dumb fights." Katsuki told her.

"Why don't you come over here and-" Mina spoke, but he cut her off with another "no."

With a pout, Mina got off of Yurei, and helped her up. They walked back over to Eijirou and Katsuki, chatting about one ridiculous idea after the other.

"If you're both the villains, who would be the hero?" Eijirou asked, and they both paused, looking at him confused. "We're supposed to be showing off as heroes, not villains."

"If we fight Katsuki, no one will be able to tell who the hero is." Yurei jested with a grin, and Katsuki glared.

"Also, when would you have time to change from a villain costume to a hero one? Also, since potential employers will be looking at this, won't it feel too comical if everyone is in a ridiculous costume?" Eijirou asked, trying to use logic to dissuade them. He'd yet to figure out that logic wouldn't work- they were both insane.

"Most hero and villain costumes, in real life, are ridiculous. In my case I have a serious enough resume that I don't have to take this too seriously. Also, the weirder our villain costumes, the less likely that we'll be recognized in each other's videos. For example, let's say that you and I are competing for an internship, and the deciding factor comes to these videos. If we just fight in our normal costumes, they're going to see you losing to me in the video, and that'll affect their judgment about your strength. If they don't immediately recognize you, though, or at least can make enough of a distinction, that's not you that's losing the fight, it's some guy in a costume." Yurei explained seriously, dropping the weird, happy facade.

Then, she smiled.

"Then again, dressing down, like ninjas, would also solve that problem, but it would be less fun. Dressing up like mooks will put more attention on our quirks rather than who we're fighting." Yurei added.

Mina gasped loudly, her eyes going wide and hands going for Yurei's shoulder, grasping for her. "Ninja lesbian lovers with ninja peasants Hardy and Explodey that-"

"No." Katsuki interrupted.

"Alien Ninja Queen." Mina breathed.

"You realize these are supposed to be shorter than five minutes, right?" Eijirou asked.

"Either be more supportive or you have no chance of being Alien Ninja King." Mina hissed angrily.

"How many kings and queens will there be?" Yurei asked her.

Mina gasped, her eyes going wide again as she came up with yet another terrible idea. "We can make the fight a fight for the crown. We do the fight four times, each time the winner being different."

Katsuki had planned to call her plan 'stupid', but he actually liked the sound of it.

The group paused, contemplating it.

Katsuki liked the idea of standing on their beaten bodies with a crown on his head in a victory pose.

"But that means that one of the fights will be me, Katsuki, and Eijirou against you, Mina." Yurei pointed out.

"But I'll win." Mina said with a manic grin, and Katsuki frowned. _I can't lose to this weirdo._

"That sounds kind of fun, actually. No villains, just a hero fight." Eijirou said.

"I'm not going to lose to Pinky." Katsuki stated.

"Don't worry, I can knock you out so you're not awake for that part." Yurei said with a smile.

"Fuck you." Katsuki said, but there was no bite in his words.

He was just happy to see her smiling like that again, after what happened earlier.

Their small group seemed set on the idea of the fight for a crown. Even though Katsuki hated the idea of losing, Yurei kept reminding him that he wasn't actually losing, and that he would be winning for one of the fights.

He had a lot of ideas for his fight.

7.

May 15th, Monday, 10:00 PM

That night, she found herself in Katsuki's arms again, moaning softly as he slid inside her again.

They were taking a "break" from research and studying.

She loved being on top.

She loved the control, to feel him react to her touches and movements. To feel him jerk beneath her as she licked at his sensitive nipples, and sucked on them. To feel the love and affection as she brought their lips together and moved her hips close to his, connecting them so deeply, and feeling him reverberate to her core.

To feel him gasp against her lips as she moved her hips in a new way, encasing him fully. To take his hands, pin them above his head, and feel his arousal surge.

Sometimes, he _really_ liked to be pinned down, but she had to time it right. Otherwise he just got annoyed, and she'd give an unapologetic smirk, humping him again and sending his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Some moments, like this one, he'd completely lose himself.

His jaw slack, eyes focused on her face, and his chest heaving up and down, struggling for air.

She loved seeing him like this.

So lost to the world, focusing only on her, on the pleasure they brought each other.

"I love you." She whispered. Before she could correct herself, to say that she meant to say "I love _seeing_ you like this," he responded.

"I love you, too." Katsuki groaned, and reached up to the back of her neck, bringing her back down for a slanted kiss.

With his other hand, he gripped her hip, and suddenly started thrusting upward, hitting a spot that sent her eyes rolling.

She was so close, so close to feeling that cork inside her come undone, and she could feel that he was close, too.

So close, just a few more thrusts-

_**BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.**_

_**BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.**_

_**BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.**_

Both of them jumped in alarm from the sudden sound, gripping each other and looking around the room wildly.

"S-smoke a-alarm?" Yurei breathed as the beeping continued.

"All students evacuate to the front lawn." Aizawa's voice came from the speakers, and she instinctively pressed herself against Katsuki, trying to cover herself.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Katsuki growled.

"Maybe it's an attack?" Yurei asked, her voice more high-pitched than usual.

"If it's not I'm going to kill someone. Someone is going to die." Katsuki growled over the beeping.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute.

"All students evacuate to the front lawn." The recording repeated.

Katsuki sat up, starting to move her off, but she gripped him, stopping him.

She shifted her hips, easing off, and he groaned at the sensation.

People were talking loudly and running down the hallways.

Once she was off, she stumbled to the side. Katsuki got up, grumbling and cursing, and got his clothes on.

Yurei was shaking, still adjusting from the abrupt transition. She was always a little shaky after sex, especially after being on top, and she honestly wasn't sure if she'd be able to walk.

She let out a shriek when a shirt was thrown at her.

"Get dressed." Katsuki ordered gruffly, already having his pants on, and started throwing her other clothes at her.

With trembling hands, she started pulling her clothes back on; but when she tried to stand, to pull her sweatpants on, she stumbled to the ground.

Katsuki grabbed her arm, hoisting her up, and helped her finish getting them on.

Her muscles felt like jello.

Once her jacket was on, they hurried out with the rest of the students, Katsuki gripping her arm along the way so that she wouldn't fall.

She felt pretty pathetic. Her legs weren't moving properly, which was frustrating.

As soon as they were outside, the people around them felt different, and they realized that there was a row of students they didn't recognize there, along with some teachers.

Katsuki let go of her, letting her sink to the ground, and her gaze went to the piles of gear between them and the other students. There seemed to be vests and paintball guns.

All of the other students had them, and they were smiling and laughing at them.

Yurei's eye twitched, and anger filled her, the previous fear leaving.

"What the hell is going on?" Katsuki barked.

"Late night training, for failing the exam last week." Denki said nearby.

"Paintball against the sophomores." Mineta added.

"Scaring the hell out of us for a fucking paintball game?" Yurei asked in a low, dangerous voice.

Someone was snickering near her, and she looked over, seeing that Denki was pointing at Katsuki.

Yurei looked at what he was laughing at, and realized that Katsuki had accidentally put on her shirt in the rush. He wore a bright pink and purple shirt with a v-neck.

Yurei tugged at her jacket and looked down, confirming that she was wearing Katsuki's simple black shirt. He must have accidentally thrown it to her in the frantic exchange.

Katsuki kicked Denki in the shin, hard, causing him to cry and fall.

"Now that everyone is out here," Aizawa spoke, and her angry gaze turned to him. _He could have warned us. _"Emergencies can happen at any time and place, regardless of what's going on. Wearing what you're in now, you'll be taking a bus to a different location and facing off against the sophomore class in a game of paintball."

_Death wish. They all have a death wish._

"If any of you had passed the exam last week, you would have been warned about the game tonight. The rules will be simple: don't shoot for the head, only at the vest. The class with the least amount of hits, win. There are pressure sensors in the vests, so everytime someone is hit, it'll be recorded digitally." Aizawa said.

The sophomore class would be dark green, it seemed, and the freshman class were bright, neon pink. The pink vests were much more conspicuous than the green.

The sophomore class was still grinning, snickering, and whispering to each other.

_Dead. All of them dead._ Yurei silently seethed.

"If any one person is hit ten times, they're out of the game, and will need to leave the field." Aizawa added.

_So the maximum hits I can make is about two hundred. It looks like twenty students in the class._

_No… the maximum number of points I can get is two hundred. I can hit them with as many paintballs as I want._ Yurei realized.

8.

May 15th, Monday, 10:30 PM

They were given a room to plan their attack. There was a table in the middle with a map of the area, a thousand bullets, and on the wall was a timer, counting down to when the game would start.

"So we-" Deku started to say, but Yurei interrupted.

"I get two hundred and fifty bullets, and you all stay in this area by our entrance so that I can sense our enemies. Kyoka, if you hear any of them get too close, make a call to alert me, and I'll dispatch them." Yurei ordered.

"Oi, I want to murder them, too." Katsuki told her.

"Then you guard this corner over here, but don't go to the other areas, because you'll mess with my emotions quirk. You can yell and draw them in or whatever, but don't stray to the other areas. If any of you move away from the designated area, then I'll shoot you." Yurei stated.

"Remind me to never interrupt you during sex." Mina said with a nervous smile.

Yurei put a paintball in her gun, loading it, and then shot at her chest, causing the room of students to gasp and jump back in alarm.

"Any other questions?" Yurei asked. No one spoke up. "No? Good. I don't give a shit how you split up the rest of the bullets. Those assholes are dead."

9.

May 15th, Monday, 10:45 PM

All Might, Aizawa, and Kayama, all sat together in a booth, drinking tea and waiting for the game to start. They expected the game to go on for about an hour, and get back to campus at around midnight.

The room was cozy, with a round table in the middle, some maps on the walls, pamphlets on the table by the door, and a small kitchen on the other side of the room. Parents or teachers were allowed to sit here, within viewing distance of the paintball area, and wait for the game to be done.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Kayama asked with a smile.

"I'm a bit biased, but I think the freshmen will do well." All Might said.

"Bakugou seemed determined to win." Kayama chuckled.

The game officially started.

A few seconds later, a loud explosion came from a corner of the maze, followed by the cackling and screaming of Bakugou.

A ding came from their point counter.

Another one.

"Freshmen are off to a good… start…" Kayama said, trailing off as the counter kept going up at a steady pace. The count was rhythmic and consistent, almost as if the sensor had been hacked.

The teachers all watched the hit count steadily go up and up. Aizawa got an alert on his phone, letting him know that someone in the sophomore class had just gotten hit the maximum number of times.

"Kasai did seem pretty upset before. This seems like something she would excel in." All Might commented.

Within a minute, the sophomore class had taken sixty hits.

Another explosion from the corner of the maze, followed by Bakugou's yelling.

Within five minutes, all of the sophomore class had been taken out.

No hits on the freshmen class.

The teachers all exchanged a surprised and slightly confused look.

An announcement came from the speakers, announcing the end of the game.

"Can we play again so that I can shoot them more?" A voice spoke, causing them all to jump, and then looked over to see Kasai's head sticking out of the wall.

"You took them all out on your own?" All Might asked.

"Yes, and if we play again, can we raise the number of hits people can take to twenty, or infinite? If we go up to infinite, then Katsuki can get some shots in and not yell at me later." Kasai asked.

They could hear explosions and Bakugou's yelling outside.

"... well, we had planned to have you guys play for about an hour. We could switch to free play and let people shoot whoever they want. The 'winner' could be whoever hits the most people." Kayama said, and looked to the other teachers.

"Sure." Aizawa nodded.

10.

May 15th, Monday, 10:50 PM

"Free game starting in 3...2...1."

Yurei started out by stealing all the extra paintballs from the other students.

Some of them didn't even notice.

Once she had as many as she could get, and the students were confused and helpless, she started her massacre.

11.

May 15th, Monday, 11:05 PM

Within ten minutes, Kasai was leading at first place.

1,500 hits and counting.

There were only 2,000 paintballs total, between the classes, and then 200 were used for the first round, leaving 1,800. Bakugou was at 30 hits, and there were a few others with only three or less hits. Most of the students had zero hits.

There were still explosions happening outside, with lots of yelling and screams.

"I don't think I've ever seen Kasai so passionate before." All Might commented.

"She did this last term when she teamed up with Bakugou, didn't she?" Kayama asked.

"This time she seems to be working alone, but not interfering with Bakugou." All Might commented.

_She's venting. Hopefully that's a good sign._ Aizawa thought, continuing to watch the numbers go up.

Once Kasai reached 1,693, she started to slow down. Probably because the number of paintballs was getting scarce.

He felt slightly bad for the other students, but he also hoped that this would motivate them. He also hoped that this would boost Kasai's confidence. All Might mentioned that she was upset over what happened with Uraraka.

A small sigh left his lips as he thought about the student. Her situation wasn't much better.

The man responsible for attacking her disappeared, and they currently had no leads. Uraraka was taking a few days off from school, spending time with her parents to recover after such a traumatic event.

He knew of a few other serious attacks happening to students in other classes this term, but he hadn't had time to investigate them thoroughly. He was too busy with his own students and trying to improve school security measures.

Attacks _on_ campus, between the students, had gone up, too. The students were stressed and scared, and rightfully so. They were all training to become heroes at a very dangerous time.

_When is it not dangerous?_

"Are we allowed to have more bullets?" A voice asked, and the group looked over, seeing Kasai's head in the wall again.

"No." Kayama answered, and Kasai promptly disappeared again.

12.

May 16th, Tuesday, 1:00 PM

"AAAAAAH!" Mina screamed at the top of her lungs, and then started chanting, "dance, dance, dance, dance, dance," over and over again in a lower voice, while wiggling her butt and staring at Yurei.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, sitting on Yurei's bed with his laptop on his lap. Eijirou was nearby, but instead of rolling his eyes or making a snarky comment, he just stared at Mina's wiggling butt.

They were trying to pick out what to wear to the school dance on Friday. There was a pile of clothes next to Katsuki on the bed, which Mina (Eijirou) brought over, and then quickly ignored as they went to Yurei's closet.

"I wish we could go shopping! Oh my gosh, this dress!" Mina exclaimed, and pulled out a particularly slinky garment from the closet. It looked closer to lingerie than a dress.

"Just because you bought it for me and shoved it into my closet, doesn't mean I'm ever going to wear that." Yurei told her.

"But you should do it anyway. Do it, do it, do it," Mina chanted while holding up the dress to Yurei's chest. The front was solid, but the back was almost entirely purple lace.

"I really don't want to, Mina. I honestly don't really want to wear a dress at all. Ever since my mom yelled about me dressing like a slut, I've been weird about clothes." Yurei said.

"What about your interview suit?" Mina asked.

"I don't want to risk staining it." Yurei replied.

"What if you wore one of your formal button down shirts, formal pants, and OH MY GOSH YOU SHOULD WEAR A BOW TIE!" Mina exclaimed excitedly, and then bolted out of the room like a raccoon on speed.

Seconds later, she reappeared, carrying a box with her, and dumped the contents on the floor.

… she had hundreds of bow ties.

"Why do you-" Yurei started to ask, but before she could, Mina was talking over her, going through her button down shirts in the closet, choosing a lavender and bright pink one, and then gathering bow ties to see which one matched.

Katsuki frowned at the idea of going to the dance with her like that. He didn't want people to think he was gay like his dad.

"Why don't you just wear a dress? That purple one looked good." Katsuki asked.

"FUCK OFF SHE'S WEARING A BOW TIE!" Mina screamed at him, and then went back to the shirts and ties.

"Leave them alone, Mina just really wants to cheer Yurei up. She's been really worried about her lately." Eijirou told him in a low voice.

"I don't want to go out in public with someone dressed like a dude." Katsuki replied.

"I never said that you were going to be my date to the dance." Yurei retorted, and he glanced over, realizing that she'd heard his comment.

"I'm your boyfriend." Katsuki told her.

"So? You never asked if you could be my date. You just assumed." Yurei said with a nasty glare.

_Geez, maybe it's that time of month, or something._ He wondered, but didn't verbalize it. Last time he had to buy her flowers.

"Can I be your date?" Mina asked Yurei.

"I'd love to be your date!" Yurei replied enthusiastically.

"Woah woah woah, but then who's my date?" Eijirou asked.

"You can go with Katsuki. Like father like son, right?" Mina suggested with a sadistic grin, and Katsuki glared daggers at her.

"You two going together is gay, too." Katsuki pointed out.

"So? We're not homophobic like you, and we're both attracted to women." Yurei said.

"Oi, I'm not 'homophobic' or whatever. I'm not scared of gay people." Katsuki said.

"Then go on a date with Eijirou." Mina said.

"What if I just went with another girl? I could ask out that ghost freak, Hana, or frog face." Katsuki suggested.

"Both of them are gay, one of them is just in denial." Yurei said with a straight face.

"Tsu is gay?" Mina asked.

"She has an adorable little girlfriend from the dorms next door. They play D&D together. They're both nerds and super cute." Yurei said, and Mina 'aaaw'd at her.

_Is everyone fucking gay and I've just never realized it?_ Katsuki wondered as his eye twitched.

For almost two hours, Yurei and Mina talked and planned their "date" together for the dance. They were going to do dinner at the food hall, dancing at the dance, and then a nice walk around the campus.

Once Eijirou and Mina were gone, taking the excessive clothes with them, Katsuki had gotten ready to be as snarky as humanly possible to Yurei. He'd even typed up some notes on his laptop, in preparation, to utterly destroy her.

Yurei thought she could get away with actively planning to cheat on him, right in front of him? Just how fucking stupid was she?

But, before he could lay on his first word, Yurei let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders falling, and she turned to Katsuki.

Everything he'd planned to say slipped out of his head, and all he could do was watch as Yurei came over, moved his laptop to the side, and sat on his lap with her legs on either side of him. She looked tired.

"I don't mind wearing slinky outfits when we're alone, if that's what you're upset about. I just don't want to wear them in public." Yurei said, and at her words, his cheeks heated up slightly.

He hadn't actually wanted her to wear the dress that Mina had been holding up to her- just some dress. Any dress. He unintentionally imagined her in that slinky garb, at the dance, where _everyone_ would see her, and his jaw tensed.

"Mina and I were just having fun. I haven't been able to spend much time with her lately. I like being with you, but I'd also like to spend time with my best friend. She cheers me up." Yurei said in a low voice, and looking him in the eye.

"You can have fun without fucking her." Katsuki stated, and she chuckled.

"We're not going to have sex, Katsuki. Not all dates are like that. You and I have done several dates where we didn't have sex afterwards. Mina and I weren't going to do anything sexual and I was going to establish rules with you before then." Yurei said, and Katsuki tensed slightly.

His face heated up in embarrassment, but he scoffed, trying to shrug off his dumb mistake.

"You two seemed pretty friendly when you were talking." Katsuki told her.

"We usually are." Yurei pointed out.

"... what am I supposed to do for the dance? Just pretend like you're not my girlfriend or something?" Katsuki asked.

"You could plan something with the guys. I'm sure that they'll be drinking and doing stupid crap. You can tag along with them and laugh at their stupidity." Yurei said, and he chuckled, liking the idea. "No kissing or fucking them, though. The rule goes both ways."

Katsuki grunted, hating the mental image that accidentally popped into his mind. He did not need to think about seeing Tenya and Deku kiss again.

_Of course that bastard is gay. Everyone is fucking gay._

He suddenly felt her hand on his chin, making him look up at her, and sighed into the following kiss.

He reached for her thighs, gripping them, and dove for her neck, kissing the tender flesh.

"Um… about what we said last night…" Yurei said awkwardly, and he froze.

… he'd hoped that she'd forgotten about that.

"Do we, uh… want to talk about that?" Yurei asked.

"... I'm more interested in fucking, honestly." Katsuki mumbled against her neck.

"... sounds good." Yurei said, and he went back to his original task.

13.

May 16th, Tuesday, 8:00 PM

That night, Aizawa offered her some extra credit.

Apparently, another freshman had gone missing: Togaru Kamakiri. Aizawa wanted her to go with him to the area he'd last been seen and help him look for him.

In addition, Kan and a student from the boy's dorm, Sen Kaibara, would also be searching the area.

Considering how poorly Yurei did on the midterm (she didn't flunk it, but she didn't do great), she jumped at the opportunity. She didn't know why Aizawa asked her to come along, but she was happy for the credit.

They were in a busier part of town, with tons of people coming and going from places. There were tons of shops, two major theaters, a mall, food carts, restaurants- it was a busy area, and it was just a weekday.

Kamakiri went missing about five hours earlier. Apparently, he and Kaibara went out to see a movie, and afterwards, Kamakiri bolted after getting a call. According to Kaibara, he'd been acting strange for the last few weeks, and suspected that Kamakiri had a crush on someone. He didn't know why he would randomly bolt without an explanation, though, and he wasn't answering his phone.

Aizawa and Yurei went to the shops, asking around to see if anyone had seen him. Kamakiri had a unique head, akin to a praying mantis with a bright green mohawk, which helped make him recognizable in this hectic area. When people said that they hadn't seen him, they meant it.

After talking to dozens of people with no luck, Yurei finally asked him why he wanted her there. Surely, they had security people who were better trained to handle this.

"When you were searching for Bakugou, you had a talent for it. You're good with people. This also gives you field experience, and considering what a dangerous profession you're planning to go into, I want you to have as much field work as possible." Aizawa said.

"Katsuki is going into the same field. Why not invite him?" Yurei asked.

"He's too combative, and the situation is too serious." Aizawa answered, and Yurei nodded in understanding. _Doesn't that mean it would be more important for him to get this experience? Then again, he doesn't have a hero license. _

As they passed by a restaurant, she shuddered, and paused by the window.

_What the hell?_ Yurei wondered as she looked inside.

Chills went up and down her spine.

The only word she could think to describe the average looking restaurant was 'haunted.'

"What's wrong?" Aizawa asked.

She couldn't think of a good way to describe what she was feeling. The people moving around the street were messing with her emotions quirk, so it was entirely possible that she was just imagining things.

Or, the people inside really were feeling the depth of despair that she could sense from outside. The only people she'd met that felt this depressed were on those human trafficking raids.

She thought about those two little kids.

_No, it also feels like something else. Why ghosts?_

They reminded her eerily of the "ghosts" she sensed as a kid, but that was just Hana stalking her. Hana's quirk allows her to create manifestations of energy that act like "ghosts" but really aren't.

"Do you know if Hana Kojo is still on campus?" Yurei asked him.

"I checked the sign out form before we left. She was still at campus, and if anyone leaves, they're supposed to send me a text." Aizawa said, and Yurei looked back into the restaurant. "Is there a reason why you ask?"

"I'm trying to figure it out. Do you mind if we go inside?" Yurei asked.

"Sure." Aizawa said, and followed her in.

For a simple noodle shop, it was packed.

Yurei sensed a number of utterly depressed souls, and they were some of the worst she'd ever felt. As they paused by the entrance, waiting to talk with the staff, Yurei looked around, trying to identify the source of what she was sensing.

This didn't feel right, it felt weird, and she wanted to run, but she also wanted to understand.

As she tried to pinpoint the source of some of the pain, she landed on a shrine, which had a bright pink vase with decorative paint lines on it. She stepped closer, getting a more accurate read on the source, and was pretty sure that it was coming from the vase.

_Is there… a brain in there….? A small weird animal? A weird animal with a quirk hidden inside?_ Yurei wondered as she leaned in closer, inspecting the poor paint job and lumpy form. She looked around, searching for air holes, and confirming that it was the source. There was nothing connecting to it, no wires or anything to sustain a habitat inside.

Then, she sensed the vase's emotions shift, going from utterly depressed to aroused, and she leaned back. She looked down at herself, and realized that if there was a camera in it, or if the thing was alive, then it would have been staring at her cleavage.

_What the fucking hell?_

"We're looking for someone that went missing about six hours ago. Have you seen him?" Aizawa spoke, getting her attention. He was showing the photo on his phone to a middle-aged woman in a dress. Her hair was long and pulled back in a long ponytail, her limbs long and thin, and her face a serene and gentle canvas.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen him, but I can ask the rest of my staff." She said, and sent one of her waitresses to start telling staff to come over and look at the photograph. Then, she turned to Yurei. "What you're looking at is an urn for my father. I light his favorite incense for him every morning, and I like to think that he's watching over us. He's the one that made this restaurant what it is."

"I'm surprised you chose to put him in pink." Yurei commented, and then suddenly felt rage from the vase.

"My father would roll over in his grave if he heard you say that. He loved the color pink. He always hated when people assumed it was a feminine color. He was even buried in a pink outfit." She said with a fond smile.

"It's a good color, that's understandable." Yurei said with a smile, and then looked back to the shrine, then noticing the photographs around it. She recognized one of the people in them almost instantly. "Is Hana Kojo your daughter?"

The vase reacted, suddenly frightened.

"You know her?" She asked with a widening grin.

"Yeah, she's my classmate. This is one of her teachers, Aizawa." Yurei answered, and the shop owner turned to Aizawa in shock.

"I didn't realize! Do you want some food? On the house, of course. I didn't recognize you! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, and we can't eat, but thank you." Aizawa said, and turned to the staff members as they started walking over to them, showing them the picture.

"Does anyone else in your family have the ghost quirk, like Hana?" Yurei asked.

"No, it was a shock to everyone. I don't even have a quirk, and then her father has a plant quirk. Hana's just… came out of nowhere. I'm so proud of her for getting into the top hero school in the country! She's going to be a great hero." She said with starry eyes.

"Thank you for your time." Aizawa said, and gave a polite bow before heading out with Yurei, going back into the busy street. "Were you aware that that was Hana's family's shop when we went in?"

"No, but I think her grandpa was in that vase. Nnn." Yurei said with a frown, and made the weird sound she sometimes made when she was upset.

_That felt so weird._

"What do you mean?" Aizawa asked.

"That vase was emotionally reacting to its surroundings. There's no air holes in it, so there's no tortured animal inside. There's no tubes, so there wasn't a habitat. There was a living thing in that vase that was reacting to stimuli around it and extremely depressed. I went in there because I sensed a bunch of depressed people. It was like a tamer version of what nomus feel like." Yurei explained, wishing that what she said didn't sound so dumb.

"... so you think that Kojo's ghosts are real ghosts?" Aizawa asked.

"I don't know, but whatever the hell was in that vase was pissed when I said the color was girly, and apparently that was something the dead guy would react to. There were a lot of tortured people in there, which isn't normal. I know what I'm saying sounds dumb, but whatever is going on in that restaurant isn't normal." Yurei told him, and shuddered again, thinking about that place.

Aizawa's phone rang, and they paused to the side, out of foot traffic. They stood by the lit window of a bar, not far from some smokers that unintentionally drifted smoke their way.

"Great. We'll meet you back on campus." Aizawa said, and hung up. "They found him. Let's go back to campus."

_He probably won't bring me on these searches again. I was useless. He probably thinks I'm just obsessed with getting back at Hana._

"I'm sorry for wasting our time at the noodle shop. I really didn't know it belonged to Hana's family." Yurei apologized.

"It's fine. Let's just get back." Aizawa said, and she nodded.

He seemed distracted by something, but she didn't want to bother him by asking questions.

As they went back into traffic, however, someone walking the opposite direction tripped. The four cups they'd been carrying opened and spilled all over the front of Yurei's shirt, sending a mix of very hot and very cold drinks all over her, drenching her shirt.

"I'm so sorry!" The person who spilled the drinks all over her shouted, and she looked up, realizing that they looked familiar. Still holding the mostly empty cups, he reached into a small bag, and pulled out some napkins. "I'm so sorry, I didn't- Yurei?"

"Jin, right?" Yurei asked, and accepted the napkins.

"Yeah! I'm surprised you remember me, and I'm so sorry we met again like this. I'll run inside and get you some more." Jin said, passed the empty cups and bag to Aizawa, and then ran back into the coffee shop he'd just exited.

As she used the napkins to soak up some of the very strong coffee, Aizawa asked, "how do you know him?"

"I met him on a bus once. We chatted on the way to my stop. He was nice." Yurei answered, and looked up when Jin rushed back, carrying an entire stack. "Thanks."

"You can dry yourself on the way. Thanks for the napkins, we need to get going." Aizawa said curtly, and handed back the drinks and bag.

"I'm so sorry again for spilling it, I'm such a clutz sometimes." Jin apologized dramatically.

"It's okay. Have a nice night." Yurei said with a wave, and walked off with Aizawa, carrying the napkins and soaking up some of the cooling liquid.

"You talk to strangers on the bus?" Aizawa asked her in a judgmental tone.

"I've been talking to nothing but strangers for the last hour." Yurei pointed out.

"You should still be careful who you talk to. There are a lot of dangerous people with dangerous quirks out there, and you're a big target." Aizawa said.

"Most people don't recognize me when I dress down like this." Yurei said.

"The more popular you get, the less true that'll be." Aizawa said.

_No shit._

She didn't argue with him, though. He was just worried about her.


End file.
